GST changes: Enabling provision for peak 40% rate

Council suggests change from present 28%, with Centre and states each empowered to have up to 14%

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is likely to get the power to raise the rate up to 40 per cent for any item in future, without the need for parliamentary approval.

The proposed move has not gone down well with tax experts, who want the rates to be moderate even in the future.

The Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has proposed an enabling provision in the GST Bills for a peak rate of 20 per cent each for Central GST (CGST) and state GST (SGST), from 14 per cent in the current draft , taking the limit to