46th GST Council Meeting to be held on 31st Dec 2021

The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will meet on December 31 to discuss the report of the panel of state ministers on rate rationalisation, among other things.

This will be a physical meeting in which the correction of duty inversion in certain goods will be discussed.

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According to an official, the 46th GST Council meeting will be held on December 31 in Delhi, as an extension to the pre-budget meeting with state finance ministers on December 30.

The Rate Rationalization Group of Ministers (GoM) will present a report to the Council. To help minimise refund payout, the panel reviewed items using an inverted duty structure.

46th GST Council Meeting to be held on 31st Dec 2021

Furthermore, the Fitment committee, comprised of tax officers from states and the Centre, has made numerous “sweeping” recommendations to the GoM regarding slab and rate changes, as well as the removal of items from the exemption list.

GST is currently a four-tier slab structure of 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. Essential items are either exempted or taxed at the lowest rate, whereas luxury and demerit items are taxed at the highest rate.

A cess is levied on luxury and demerit goods at the top of the highest slab.

To balance the impact of slab rationalization on revenue, some have suggested merging the 12% and 18% slabs, as well as removing certain items from the exempt category.

The industry has also spoken out against the 5% tax increase, citing higher compliance costs, particularly for the unorganized sector and MSMEs, as well as making poor people’s clothing more expensive.