The ministerial panel on the revision of the GST rate will meet on September 25 and is expected to discuss the revision of tax structures and rates.
“The GoM meeting on price adjustments is scheduled for September 25 in Goa,” an official told PTI.
The six-member Group of Ministers (GoM) under Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, last met on August 22 and submitted a status report to the GST Council on September 9.
During the August meeting, the delegation mandated an appropriate committee comprising tax officials from the Center and states to analyze the implications of the change in tax rate on other items and collect additional data.
Currently, the goods and services tax (GST) is a four-tiered tax structure with slabs at 5, 12, 18, and 28 percent.
Under GST, essential items can be exempted or taxed at the lowest slab, while luxury and non-luxury items attract the highest slab. Luxury goods and goods attract cess over the highest slab of 28 percent.
There have been talks of combining the 12 percent and 18 percent tax rates, but nothing has been proposed so far.
At about 12 percent, the average GST rate fell below the revenue neutral rate of 15.3 percent. This has given rise to the need to initiate discussions on the revision of the GST rate.
States like West Bengal and Karnataka have been reluctant to negotiate GST slabs yet.
West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya had said after the GoM meeting in August, “I said there should be no changes in the GST slab”.
Karnataka Finance Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the GoM should analyze whether there is a need to “disrupt” the GST system, which has become largely stable.
“What do you gain by disrupting it. We said in the next meeting we will discuss it (reducing the slabs),” said Byre Gowda.
The six-member GoM also includes Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, Rajasthan Health Services Minister Gajendra Singh, and Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal.