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GST Council on Saturday reduced the Goods and Service Tax on liquid jaggery, pencil sharpeners, and certain tracking devices, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Briefing media after the 49th meeting of the GST Council, the minister also informed that reports of the GoM (Group of Ministers) on checking tax evasion by pan masala and gutkha industry, and on Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs), have been taken on board. She further said all the GST compensation dues will be cleared, including Rs 16,982 crore for the month of June. The finance minister further said the GST Council has decided to rationalise late fees on filing of annual GST returns after the due date. Finance ministers of states and UTs (with legislature) and senior officials of Union Government and states participated in the meeting.
Decriminalisation of offences under the GST law, setting up appellate tribunals and mechanism to curb tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha businesses are among the issues slated to be discussed in the GST Council meeting which began on Saturday morning. Besides, GST on online gaming and casinos may come up for deliberations at the Council meeting. The Group of Ministers (GoM), chaired by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, set up last year on the issue had submitted its report to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. The Council would also consider a report of tax officers and give clarity on the rate applicability in certain goods and services. "Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman chairs the 48th meeting of the GST Council via virtual mode, in New Delhi, today," the finance ministry tweeted. With regard to decriminalisation of offences, the law committee of the GST Council, comprising tax officers from the Centre and states, has suggested to the Council to ...
West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya on Monday said she will be representing the state at the crucial two-day GST Council meeting in Chandigarh. The Council in its meeting starting Tuesday is slated to discuss an array of issues, including a mechanism for compensating states for revenue loss, tax rate tweaks on some items and relaxed registration norms for small online suppliers. I have arrived for the meet along with other officials, including Additional Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, Bhattacharya, the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Department of Finance, told PTI over phone. The meeting will be chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprise state counterparts. The Council may see a stormy discussion around compensation payout to states, with opposition-ruled states aggressively pushing for its continuation beyond the five-year period, which ends in June Earlier this month, former West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra had written to ...