Govt to go slow on GST rate rationalisation exercise

The government has decided to go slow on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate rationalisation exercise and the date for the new Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting is not yet decided, sources told CNBC-TV18.

No new date has been finalised,” and there is “no communication either,” two GoM members told CNBC-TV18. Earlier, the idea was to wrap up the exercise within a week but now there seems to be a fresh communication post saying the meeting has been put on hold, they said.

The GST Council had nominated GoM to phase out exemptions and correct the inverted duty structure of various goods and services. The exercise had started earlier in November. Two GoM meetings have already taken place on the matter. In the meetings, it was decided exemptions need to be phased out, except for a few items that are consumed widely or used in agriculture.

The GoM is headed by Basavaraj Bommai (Karnataka’s CM). It also includes Tarkishore Prasad (Bihar’s Deputy CM), KN Balagopal (Kerala’s Finance Minister), Amit Mitra (West Bengal’s Finance Minister).

Further, the council was seeking to correct the inverted duty structure that was leading to a loss to domestic manufacturers. A final meeting was expected to take place on November 27 but it was deferred. The agenda of the meeting was to consider recommendations of the GST fitment committee regarding the GST rate and slab changes.

Source - https://www.cnbctv18.com/economy/govt-to-go-slow-on-gst-rate-rationalisation-exercise-11809212.htm