“The 54th Meeting of GST Council will be held on 9th September, 2024, at New Delhi,” the council said in a post on social media platform X.
It will also take up the issue of removing duty inversion under GST,
As announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the post-budget discussion in Parliament, the newly reconstituted group of ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation will discuss the progress made by the earlier members on the issue. “There will be a presentation by the GoM irrespective of whether the report is draft… and then council will start the discussion on rate rationalisation in the next meeting,” Sitharaman had said during the June 22 meeting.
The new GoM on rate rationalisation is headed by Bihar deputy chief minister Sumant Chaudhary.
The council is also likely to take up the issue of 18% GST on insurance premiums. The matter is already pending with the fitment committee under the council, which comprises officials from the Centre as well as states. “The council will take up the pending recommendation by the fitment committee in the last meeting,” an official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the final agenda is likely to be finalised by the end of this month.At the June meeting, the council took several significant decisions to ease the compliance burden, including waiver of interest and penalties for demand notices under the CGST Act, setting a monetary limit for appeal in the GST Appellate and other courts.Industry is hoping for more such reforms in the upcoming meeting.
“Rate rationalisation is a crucial step towards simplifying India’s GST regime and to ensure the process is effective, it is imperative to consider the overall tax burden on end consumers when reassessing tax slabs,” said Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner, EY. “Additionally, addressing classification ambiguities is vital during this exercise. Wide-ranging industry consultations before implementing new rates will help align stakeholder expectations and facilitate a smooth transition,” he said.