56th GST Council Meeting: Slabs, cess and simplification – Here’s what to expect
The 56th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting, postponed from its original June schedule due to a packed agenda, is set to convene in the last week of June or early July. With the Monsoon Session of the Parliament looming, the Council is expected to meet and address long-pending demands from industry and state governments. These demands include highly anticipated rationalisation of GST rates and the future of the Compensation Cess, which is currently scheduled to expire in March 2026.
Other key agenda items that are likely to be discussed, experts said, are the reclassification of intermediary services as exports, steps toward compliance simplification, among others.
The government is yet to announce a formal date of the GST Council meeting and the agenda is also expected to be finalised subsequently.
The GST Council is expected to discuss a proposal to rationalise GST rates by reducing the number of slabs from the current four to three while removing the 12 per cent tax slab. Vivek Baj, Partner, Economic Laws Practice, said, “It is likely that the Council may consider eliminating the 12 per cent GST rate slab altogether. In such a scenario, goods and services currently falling under the 12 per cent category may either be moved to the 5 per cent slab or elevated to the 18 per cent slab, depending on their nature and essentiality.” Alternatively, he added, the Council may explore the introduction of a new 15 per cent slab by merging the existing 12 per cent and 18 per cent slabs.
Brijesh Gandhi, Partner, NPV & Associates LLP, said, “If approved, this change could push several goods and services currently taxed at 12 per cent into the 18 per cent bracket, potentially leading to a moderate increase in consumer prices. However, the simplification is aimed at reducing classification disputes and easing compliance for taxpayers and administrators alike.”
