GST Council may meet soon, discuss rate rationalisation

NEW DELHI: The GST Council is expected to meet soon and discuss issues linked to simplification and rationalisation of rates and future of the compensation cess, a top govt source said on Friday.

"There are three or four different aspects relating to making GST simpler. We will take up the issue of compensation cess, rate rationalisation, and simplification," the source said.

The GST Council, which is headed by the finance minister, is expected to meet once every quarter. The panel did not take up the issue of rate rationalisation in the last meeting of the Council in Dec.

The source said a three-week notice is to be given before the meeting is convened and added that a decision on the meeting of the council would be taken soon. The Union Budget in Feb and the recent escalation in tension between India and Pakistan also meant that a meeting could not be convened.

Two ministerial panels, which recommended a reduction in rates and providing exemption to certain categories, are yet to submit their final report to the GST Council. The panel on compensation cess, which is headed by junior finance minister Pankaj Chaudhary, is examining the status of the cess beyond March 2026.

On state of the economy, the source said several multilateral agencies, including IMF and World Bank, are on the same page, with regard to India's growth trajectory, and they see growth "in 6% plus range and closer to 7%." Indication of an above-normal monsoon augured well for reviving demand. Several agencies estimate India's economic growth in 6.3%-6.5% range in current fiscal year, against the backdrop of global challenges and geopolitical tensions.


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