Lowering of GST rate of 28 percent on two-wheelers so as to boost sales affected by the pandemic, discussion on bringing natural gas under GST ambit, course correction on inverted duty structure on products in sectors like pharma, textile, fertiliser, steel utensils, tractors, tyres, solar panels, among several other product categories are some of the key agenda points for the 43rd Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting today, May 28.
It starts at 11 am via video conferencing. Participants include Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, Finance Ministers of states and Union Territories, and senior officers from the Union government and states.
Some of the other key issues under discussion include compensation to states and possibilities of lowering the GST on essential medical supplies or doing away and for how long.
While the GST Council is required to meet once every quarter, it could not happen due to the second wave of coronavirus hitting the country in March, the severity of which was felt in April and May.
Chief ministers of various states have been writing to the finance minister requesting for an urgent meeting of the GST council post the second wave. States have been demanding GST exemption on crucial drugs and equipment used in COVID-19 treatment, such as remdesivir, oxygen, oxygen cylinders, and other related supplements.
Earlier in the week Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal wrote a letter to the FM raising concerns on various issues. In fact, his letter termed the agenda for the meeting as 'mundane' as it did not deal with the substantive issues that were raised in the past, it was reported in the media. "In view of the prevailing position the country finds itself in today, we need to take some urgent measures on the pandemic front. It is baffling that despite the crisis our country currently finds itself in, with millions of people suffering consequences of COVID and inadequate health infrastructure, taxes this high continue to apply on basic essentials needed to overcome this life-threatening disease," Badal wrote in his letter.
Health ministers of other non-BJP states too have been writing in and expressing concerns over the taxation on essential medical drugs and supplies demanding a discussion and lowering of GST rates.
BW Reporters
Ashish Sinha is an experienced business journalist who has covered FMCG, auto, infrastructure, tourism, telecom among several other beats. Ashish has keen interest in the regulatory scenario impacting different sectors. He writes on aviation, railways, post and telegraph, infrastructure, defence, media & entertainment, among a wide variety of other subjects.
