GST Council’s GoM to examine calamity cess

The GST Council has constituted a Group of Ministers under Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna to suggest uniform policies for levying a special calamity cess in case of natural disasters in a particular state. The seven-member GoM will also examine the constitutional and legal feasibility of levy of a special cess by states for revenue mobilisation in case of a natural calamity. Simultaneously, it would examine whether the special cess should be restricted to some specific sectors or should be across the board. Also, whether it should be on B2B supplies only or B2C supplies only or both.

The other members in the GoM include Finance Ministers from Assam (Ajanta Neog), Chhattisgarh (O P Choudhary), Gujarat (Kanubhai Desai), Kerala (K N Balagopal), Uttarakhand (Premchand Aggarwal) and West Bengal (Chandrima Bhattacharya).

Additionally, the GoM would recommend the rate structure and time duration for which the special cess should be levied. It is also expected to look into whether any alternate mechanism can be devised for helping states in case of a natural disaster.  pti

India’s job market continued its upward momentum in February, witnessing 41% year-on-year growth mainly driven by freshers hiring, a report said on Thursday. In February, fresher hiring rose by 26% year-on-year (YoY) reflecting sustained employer demand for entry-level talent, according to data by foundit (formerly Monster APAC and ME), Asia’s jobs and talent platform.

Among sectors, IT - hardware and software continued to lead fresher hiring, nearly doubling its share from 17% in 2024 to 34% in 2025, the report said.

Source : https://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/gst-councils-gom-to-examine-calamity-cess/81886777.html