GST Council meeting scheduled for June 22 in New Delhi

With the new administration in power, the 53rd GST Council meeting is set to take place on June 22, 2024, in the capital city of New Delhi. The most recent GST Council meeting took place on October 7, 2023, with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman serving as the chairperson.

The GST council will convene for the first time since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office for the third consecutive term. Nirmala Sitharaman was reappointed as the Finance Minister for the second term in a row. She is expected to unveil the ultimate Budget for FY25, which will establish the agenda for the Modi 3.0 government's focus and goals for Viksit Bharat.

The first GST council meeting of the new government on 22 June is packed with a wide range of agenda items. It is important to tackle important industry issues such as online gaming taxation and the upcoming evaluation of the valuation rules implemented in October 2023. Rajat Bose, a Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, mentioned that additional items for discussion include feedback from state finance ministers on the Union Budget of 2024 and other important policy initiatives planned by the new government.

The meeting will take place before the commencement of the first Parliamentary session of the 18th Lok Sabha, set for June 24. The meeting agenda is currently uncertain but will be finalized in the upcoming days.

Recent decisions made in the most recent GST council meeting:

• In the recent meeting led by the Finance Minister, it was agreed to lower the GST on pre-packaged millet flour with 70% millet content from 18% to 5%. Millet flour is not subject to GST when sold loose.
• Moreover, the council has chosen to exclude services such as water supply, public health, sanitation conservancy, solid waste management, and slum improvement and upgradation provided to Governmental Authorities from GST taxation.
  
• The council also determined to reduce or exempt taxes on distilled alcohol and other goods.
  
• The most recent GST receipts for May 2024 amount to Rs 1.73 trillion, showing an approximately 10 percent increase compared to the previous year. There was a decrease in collections from the peak of Rs 2.1 lakh crore collected in April.