GST Council to get four new representatives at next meeting
New Delhi: Federal indirect tax body, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, will have four new representatives when it meets next, reflecting political changes in states after the recent assembly polls.
Three new representatives will be from Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, which saw regime change following the assembly elections in April, according to two persons familiar with the development. They will succeed Kerala’s K.N. Balagopal, West Bengal’s Chandrima Bhattacharya and Tamil Nadu’s Thangam Thennarasu.
The fourth new face will be from Bihar, which saw a leadership change last month after Samrat Chaudhary was declared the chief minister. A list of GST Council members available from the Council’s website shows deputy chief minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav as the new member representing the state.
Chaudhary had played a key role in the Council’s ministerial panels when he was the deputy chief minister of the state and GST Council member. After his elevation, Yadav handles the finance and commercial taxes portfolios, making him the state’s representative in the Council.
On Thursday, the state expanded its cabinet with Yadav retaining the finance and commercial tax portfolios, news agency ANI said on social media platform X.
GST Council last met on 3 September when it slashed tax rates to stimulate demand for goods and services. The four new members will, for the first time, be part of the Council when it meets next. The date for the next meeting has not been finalized yet.
Members from Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Bihar are part of different ministerial groups set up by the GST Council to look into specific issues, such as revenue mobilization in the event of natural calamities or disasters, GST revenue analysis, real estate, and system reforms, as per orders issued by the Council.
