GST Council meet: Pruning exemptions on curd, paneer, some veggies on cards

Exemptions may also be withdrawn on certain services such as business class flights from NE airports and certain hospital room categories

The all-powerful GST Council is set to take up an interim report by a high-level ministerial panel on rate rationalisation, suggesting hiking rates on a slew of items such as leather goods, printing ink and LED lights to 18 per cent and removing exemptions given to mass products like curd, paneer, puffed rice, oats and millets.

The ministerial panel led by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai is likely to table its report to the Council this week, and may also seek three months' time to submit its final report on restructuring of the current GST slabs.

The report has