Page 8 - Gst

Only two GST rates, cuts part of structural reforms: FM Sitharaman,

The GST Council on Wednesday took a decision to reduce the GST rates to just two, 5% and 18%, with many items also moving to a zero tax slab

GST Council begins work to rejig rates; Oppn states seek revenue protection

The work to overhaul the tangled goods and services tax (GST) began on Wednesday as the government looks to cut the tax rate on common-use items, ranging from butter to certain footwear and apparel, in an attempt to boost domestic spending and cushion the economic blow of US tariffs. The marathon 56th meeting of the GST Council, the apex decision-making body on indirect taxes, headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising representatives of all states, discussed reducing GST on life and health insurance premiums and easing compliance rules for business on the first day of the two-day meeting. According to sources, the panel is likely to have discussed a three-way registration process for non-risky business and issuance of refunds, in case of exports, in seven days, among a host of measures to ease compliance burden. It also reviewed the final blueprint of simplifying the GST from the current four slabs - 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent, to a two-rate structure - 5 and

GST reforms likely to reduce J&K revenue by 10-12%: CM Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that the proposed GST reforms could reduce the UT's revenue by 10-12 per cent, adding to the severe fiscal crisis as its public revenues have "collapsed" in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. In his written speech circulated at the 56th GST Council meeting, he called for the establishment of suitable mechanisms to ensure the fiscal stability of states and union territories. "The major sectors of the economy, like tourism, transport, construction, automobiles have come to standstill post April 2025. The proposed reform can further reduce our GST revenues by 10-12 per cent. Hence as the Finance Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, I am of the opinion that establishing suitable mechanisms and safeguards for the fiscal stability of States and UTs is critical," he said. He highlighted the devastating impact of the event on the Union Territory's (UT) economy and called for the Centre's support to deal with the situation,

GST Council begins talks on two-rate structure, duty inversion fix

The 56th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, on Wednesday started deliberations on 'next-gen GST' reforms, which will lower tax rates on items of mass consumption, remove duty inversion in sectors, like textiles, and ease compliance burden for MSMEs. The Council, over the next two days, will discuss reducing the number of slabs in GST to just two -- 5 per cent and 18 per cent -- and removing the 12 per cent and 28 per cent slabs. Also, a special 40 per cent tax has been proposed on a select few items, including tobacco and ultra-luxury goods. As per the sweeping rate change proposal put forth by the Centre and vetted by a group of state finance ministers, as many as 99 per cent of items in the 12 per cent category, such as butter, fruit juices and dry fruits, would move to a 5 per cent tax rate. Similarly, electronic items like ACs, TVs, fridges, and washing machines, as well as other goods like cement, will be .

GST Council meeting on Sep 3-4: Exemption on cards for cancer drugs

Garments and apparel as well as footwear priced above ₹2,500 are likely to attract 18 per cent GST, while those below this threshold are expected to be taxed at 5 per cent, sources said

From Alto, Creta to Thar: Top cars likely to see price drop under GST 2.0

GST 2.0 Impact on Car Price: With the proposed dual tax slabs, GST 2.0 is anticipated to lower the cost of small cars while also making larger and even luxury vehicles more affordable

Auto sector mixed; Maruti, M&M top MOFSL bets as GST decision looms

Maruti Suzuki's volumes dipped marginally by 0.6 per cent Y-o-Y to 181,000 units, with export growth of 40.5 per cent Y-o-Y offset by a 7.5 per cent drop in domestic sales.

Access, education, personalisation to shape retail investing: Religare CEO

After an initial dip in Q3 and Q4 of FY25, we can now see volumes and client activity are starting to stabilise, says Gurpreet Sidana, chief executive officer at Religare Broking

GST overhaul may slash levies on shampoos, hybrid cars, TVs, electronics

Consumer electronics like air conditioners and televisions could see rates drop from 28% to 18%, ahead of the Diwali shopping season starting in October

India's net GST kitty increases 10.7% to ₹1.67 trillion in August

Gross GST collections in August, for transactions undertaken in July, stood at about Rs. 1.86 trillion, 4.8 per cent lower than the previous month

Mahindra's SUV sales to dealers dip for first time in over 3 years

(Reuters) -India's Mahindra & Mahindra reported its first sales decline over three years in August as the Scorpio SUV maker said it moderated dispatches to dealers as it awaits a government decision on lower consumption tax.

GST 2.0 should pave way towards single nationwide tax rate: Report

The long-term success of Goods and Services Tax (GST) lies in moving towards a single nationwide tax rate, and that GST 2.0 must act as the stepping stone by keeping to just two slabs 5 per cent and 18 per cent while capping the peak rate firmly at 18 per cent, not 40 per cent, a report said. "Creating a 40 per cent slab, even for a narrow set of sin or luxury goods, will set a precedent for creeping expansion. Over time, more items will be drawn into this category, undermining the very purpose of simplification," Think Change Forum, a think tank, said in a report on Monday. The report titled 'GST 2.0: Two Slabs Today, One Rate Tomorrow', strongly recommended pegging the peak indirect tax rate, including cesses, to 18 per cent. This will in one stroke remove anomalies such as inverted duty structures, cut down grey and illegal markets, reduce litigation and compliance burdens, and restore credibility to the GST system, it said. It is noted that the high-powered GST Council, chair

Delhi to release ₹1,600 cr pending GST refunds to traders before Diwali: CM

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday announced that nearly Rs 1,600 crore in GST refunds pending since 2019 will be released before Diwali, enabling traders to celebrate the festival with greater joy and prosperity. The chief minister on Sunday convened a special meeting of the Department of Trade and Taxes (GST) at her camp office in Civil Lines, which was attended by GST Commissioner Nandini Paliwal, Finance Secretary Shurveer Singh, and other senior officials of the department. Claiming that the previous (AAP) government failed to take any concrete measures towards the settlement of this long-pending amount, Gupta directed that the entire refund amount be disbursed to the traders before Diwali. To make the refund process faster and more transparent, the Delhi GST department, in collaboration with IIT-Hyderabad, has developed an advanced IT module, she said. This system, based on data analytics, data automation and expedited verification, will ensure quicker settlement of .

GST Council meet should promote federalism, not just grab headlines: Cong

Opposition-ruled states have extended their support to cut the number of GST rate slabs and the rates for mass consumption items, while demanding a mechanism to ensure the benefits get passed on to consumers, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday. He also said the Congress hopes that next week's GST Council meeting would not be just a "headline-grabbing exercise so typical of the (Narendra) Modi government". According to Ramesh, the eight opposition-ruled states have also demanded compensation to all states for a period of five years, with 2024-25 as the base year, since their revenues are bound to be adversely impacted by the rate cuts. They have demanded additional levies on 'sin' and luxury goods over and above the proposed 40 per cent be fully transferred to states, he said. "Eight Opposition-ruled states -- Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal -- have extended their support to the reduction in the number of GST

GST rate reforms: Oppn-ruled states call for additional levy for 5 yrs

At a consultative meeting in the capital, ahead of the GST Council's meeting on September 3-4, these states supported the Centre's proposal for rationalisation

Telangana may face ₹7,000 cr annual loss from GST reform: Deputy CM

With the proposed GST rate rationalisation, Telangana is estimated to lose nearly Rs 7,000 crore annually, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka said on Friday, requesting the Centre to properly compensate states for the losses expected from the new tax measure. Addressing the media in the national capital, Vikramarka said Telangana's accumulated losses since the introduction of GST are estimated to be nearly Rs 80,000 crore. "Estimates are saying that Telangana alone may lose Rs 7,000 crore annually (after the GST rate rationalisation). So when a state is estimated to lose Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 crore, it would impact welfare and developmental programmes of the respective states. However, we welcome the rate rationalisation and request the Centre to properly compensate," Vikramarka said. In order to compensate states for the losses due to rate rationalisation, the Centre should channel the revenue collected from taxes or cess on sin and luxury products to the states, he opined. H

India's GST cuts risk delay as states demand safeguards for revenue loss

Gross GST collections hit a record ₹22.1 trillion in fiscal year 2025, 9.4 per cent higher than a year earlier

Oppn states demand compensation for revenue loss due to GST reform proposal

Opposition-ruled states on Friday said the Centre's proposal for GST rate rejig could result in a revenue loss of about Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 lakh crore and demanded compensation for the losses incurred by them. Finance ministers from eight states -- Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal -- decided to present their proposal to the GST Council at the next meeting on September 3 and 4. Their proposal for balancing rate rationalisation and revenue neutrality suggests levying an additional duty on sin and luxury goods in addition to the proposed 40 per cent rate to maintain the current tax incidence. The proceeds from this levy should be distributed among states, the opposition-ruled states demanded. Briefing reporters after a meeting of the eight states, Karnataka Finance Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said each state is expected to lose 15-20 per cent from its current Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue. "The 20 per cent GST reven

GST reform to offset growth drag from 50% US reciprocal tariff: BMI

The proposed GST reforms, which would lower tax rates on common man items, will boost consumption and could cancel out the impact of 50 per cent US tariffs, BMI, a Fitch Solutions Company, said on Thursday. Since its inception, Goods and Services Tax (GST) has grown to be the second-largest source of fiscal revenue after income tax, amounting to around 30 per cent of total revenue and 2.5 per cent of GDP in FY2024-25. However, the fiscal impact of the reform will probably be mild, BMI said. Goods and services are currently charged under a four-tier system with rates ranging from 5 per cent to 28 per cent. GST reform, proposed by the Centre, says that most goods will be charged at either 5 per cent or 18 per cent. Durables such as washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators will be among the goods charged lower rates under the new GST regime. The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister and comprising ministers from all states and UTs, will meet on August 3 and 4 to

GST authorities uncover Rs 104 cr tax evasion in illicit tobacco trade

GST authorities have detected 61 cases of illicit tobacco products, including cigarettes and pan masala, involving tax amounting to Rs 104.38 crore in the first quarter of the current financial year, as per government data. The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) and other authorities have detected these cases during the April-June period, it said. Besides, it said, customs field formations and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have seized around 3.93 crore sticks of cigarettes in the current financial year up to June 2025. According to the DRI data, seizures of smuggled cigarettes have witnessed a sharp spike between 2019-20 and 2023-24, rising by over 107 per cent in volume and more than 110 per cent in value. High-margin goods like gold, tobacco, and alcohol are heavily taxed, creating strong incentives for smuggling and tax evasion. Their high value and steady demand make them prime targets for illicit trade, often fuelled by arbitrage and