GoM report on GST on health insurance to be put before Council: FinMin

Recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM) looking into issues pertaining to GST on life and health insurance will be placed before the GST Council when received, Parliament was informed on Monday.

The issue of exempting/reducing GST on life and health insurance was placed before the GST Council in its 54th meeting on September 9, 2024.

After detailed deliberations, the Council recommended constituting a GoM to holistically look into issues pertaining to GST on life and health insurance. Accordingly, a GoM was constituted under the Chairmanship of Samrat Chaudhary, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.

First meeting of the GoM was held on October 19, 2024 at New Delhi where issues of GST rate on health and life insurance policies were discussed, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

"Recommendations of the GoM when received will be placed before the GST Council," he said.

GST on health insurance services and pure term life insurance services is levied at standard rate of 18 per cent.

GST rates and exemptions on all services (including health and life insurance) are prescribed on recommendations of the GST Council, a constitutional body comprising members from both the Union and State/UT governments.

Replying to another question, the minister informed the House that revenue generated from GST on healthcare and life insurance services was Rs 8,263 crore and Rs 8,135 crore, respectively during fiscal 2023-24, as against Rs 7,638 crore and Rs 9,132 crore in the preceding financial year.

In reply to a question on forex reserves, Chaudhary said as at end-September 2024, the Reserve Bank of India held 854.73 metric tonne of gold, out of which 510.46 metric tonne is held domestically.

The total value of gold holdings is USD 65.75 billion as at end-September 2024, he said.

As per official reserve assets data available on IMF website, India had 4th largest forex reserves after China, Japan, and Switzerland, as of September 2024.