GoM on rate rationalisation meets ahead of GST Council meeting

Ahead of the GST Council meeting on September 9, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST rate rationalization will meet here on Thursday, officials said. This will be the first meeting of the high-profile GoM comprising ministers of seven states with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary as the convenor.

The other members of the panel are West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal, Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, Rajasthan Medical, and Health Services Minister Gajendra Singh.

"The GoM will meet today to take stock of the progress and the future course of action," an official said. The GST Council, in its previous meeting in June, had tasked the GoM to give a broad overview of the work done or a draft report on GST rate rationalization. It would include the status of the work and aspects covered by the panel so far and work pending before the panel.

The GST Council in its 54th meeting on September 9 will discuss the way forward on rate rationalisation. The GoM has been tasked with suggesting the required rate rationalization and correction of the inverted duty structure with the objective of simplifying the rate structure, reviewing the GST exemption list, and enhancing revenues from Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The GoM was originally set up in September 2021, under the then Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Under his chairmanship, the panel submitted an interim report to the GST Council in June 2022, proposing changes in tax rates for some goods and services and correction in the inverted duty structure. Currently, the GST regime has five broad tax slabs of zero, 5, 12, 18, and 28 percent. A cess is levied over and above the highest 28 percent rate on luxury and demerit goods