Exclusive |GST Council meet likely delayed until late May or June
The next meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council may not take place before late May or June, as state governments remain occupied with their respective budget sessions and legislative processes, delaying the Centre’s efforts to fix a date for the 56th Council meeting, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC-TV18.
Under its mandate, the GST Council is expected to meet once every three months. The delay in convening a meeting has sparked concern among businesses and tax experts, who warn that the absence of regular engagement is impacting clarity on several critical issues — from rate rationalisation and classification anomalies to compliance bottlenecks and refunds.
Najib Shah, former Chairman of the CBIC, told CNBC-TV18, “It has been four months since the last GST meeting was held. The Centre was undoubtedly busy with the Union Budget, but it is important that the Council meets now. This will be the first meeting of 2025. The FM had indicated in March that there will be a decision on tax review soon.”
He added that the long-pending merger of GST rates needs to be debated with a clear roadmap, and the delay in setting up the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) continues to hurt both taxpayers and the government.
Abhishek Jain, Indirect Tax Head & Partner at KPMG, noted that industries are awaiting decisions on “clarifications on post-sale discounts, broader coverage under amnesty schemes, extension of compensation cess, taxability of services tied to food delivery platforms,” as well as discussions on slab reduction and rate rationalisation.
Experts also said the multiplicity of tax rates remains a sticking point. “This is an issue about which there has been constant criticism, where everybody has an opinion — and we still do not know what the Council thinks about the issue,” one policy watcher noted.
