GST Council reconstitutes GoM for Sector-Specific Tax Policy Suggestions and expands ToR

The GST Council has revamped the Group of Ministers on GST revenue analysis, which would recommend sector-specific policy interventions as well as the possibility of a uniform enforcement platform to prevent tax evasion.

The GST Council voted at its 55th meeting on December 21, 2024, to reconstitute the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST revenue analysis with a new Terms of Reference (ToR). The GoM was initially established in 2019.

The reconstituted GoM on ‘Analysis of Revenue from GST’, chaired by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, would have nine members from Bihar (Samrat Chaudhary), Chhattisgarh (O P Choudhary), Gujarat (Kanubhai Desai), Andhra Pradesh (P Keshav), Maharashtra (Ajit Pawar), Punjab (Harpal Singh Cheema), Tamil Nadu (Thangam Thennarasu), and Telangana (M B Vikramarka).

According to the extended ToR, the GoM would examine state-specific revenue collection trends, including the identification of revenue patterns across industries and regions.

It would also look into the mechanics of revenue from interstate outward supply. It would also perform a review of sector-specific analyses to identify concerns that require policy intervention or enforcement measures.

The GoM will also examine the impact of macroeconomic policy changes and geographical considerations on GST revenues, as well as the issues that agrarian and smaller states confront, and the impact of adjustments to GST acts and rules.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented on July 1, 2017. Since then, the GST Council, chaired by the Union Finance Minister and comprised of state counterparts, has approved amendments to the Act and its guidelines to make it easier for businesses.

The Government of Maharashtra would “review and recommend harmonisation of anti-evasion, audit, scrutiny tools developed by various agencies (NIC, GSTN, DGARM, state governments) to create a unified enforcement and compliance platform” .

It would also recommend appropriate measures/policy interventions for course correction for revenue augmentation, particularly for states experiencing significant revenue shortfalls.

The GoM’s extended ToR comes as another GoM, led by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, is already working to rationalize GST rates and slabs.

Gross GST collections from April to February this financial year increased 9.4 percent to over Rs 20.13 lakh crore.

After correcting for refunds, net revenues increased by 8.6 percent to Rs 17.79 lakh crore between April and February.