GST Council meeting on June 22 in New Delhi

The government has decided to hold the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting on June 22 in New Delhi, according to the ministry of finance. The last Council meeting was held in August last year.

The agenda for the meeting is not known yet. Experts, however, are of the view that the Council must now take up the GST slab/rate rationalisation discussions, valuation rules, and set the ball rolling on inclusion of some of the petroleum products under the ambit of the GST.

"The next GST Council meeting comes after a significant interval from the last meeting and will need to take up the keenly awaited rate rationalisation discussion. In addition, a preliminary effort to include low impact petroleum products such as natural gas within the GST ambit would be highly beneficial to business,” said MS Mani, partner, Deloitte India.

“The stability established in GST collections together with the fact that GST changes are outside the Union Budget proposals should provide an impetus to the GST Council in addressing various issues that need to be addressed," he added.

“The GST council meeting scheduled on 22 June, being the first of the new government, has a full plate of agenda items on its hands. There is a need to address key industry issues like the taxation of online gaming and the promised review of the valuation rules introduced in October 2023,” said Rajat Bose, partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.

“Other agenda items could include discussion on the inverted duty structure (IDS) for various sectors, such as textiles and fertilizers and rationalization of GST rates on certain items which are used by popular masses in India,” Bose added.

Around the same time, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will also hold pre-budget discussions with the state finance ministers. The budget is likely to be announced in mid July.