GST Council to decide on rate rationalisation

The Goods and Services Tax Council will meet soon and will discuss rate simplification and rationalisation besides the future of compensation cess.

The last GST Council meeting held in December did not take up reports of the Group of Ministers on rate reduction in life and health insurance and on rate rationalisation.

These two GoMs are expected to soon submit their report to the Council with top sources saying the next meeting would consider the issue of compensation cess, rate rationalisation and simplification.

“There are three or four different aspects related to making the GST simpler. We will take up the issue of compensation cess, rate rationalisation and simplification,” said a senior official source.

As of today the compensation cess is being used to repay loans taken during Covid 19 pandemic and to recover GST revenue losses. The GoM is examining ways to retain revenues from the cess in some other form and see how to evolve a Centre-state sharing formula.