In an office memorandum, the GST Council Secretariat said the two-day meeting will be held in New Delhi.
New Delhi: The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will hold a two-day meeting in New Delhi on September 3-4 to deliberate on key reforms, including the move towards a simplified two-slab GST structure.
In an official memorandum, the GST Council Secretariat confirmed that the meeting will bring together finance ministers from all states and Union Territories along with the Centre. The agenda will focus on the recommendations made by three Groups of Ministers (GoMs) on rate rationalisation, compensation cess, and GST coverage for health and life insurance.
The GoM on rate rationalisation, which met earlier this week, has in principle endorsed the Centre’s proposal for a two-slab tax regime. As per the suggested reform, GST rates would be streamlined into 5% and 18%, categorising goods and services into ‘merit’ and ‘standard’ brackets. In addition, a special 40% rate is proposed for ultra-luxury cars, tobacco, and other sin goods.
At present, GST is levied under a four-tier system of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. The proposed restructuring aims to simplify compliance, reduce disputes, and bring uniformity in indirect taxation.
