GST Council Meeting: Sin goods windfall, tax relief talks, and more ahead of budget buzz
GST) Council is likely to consider a number of measures at its meeting on Saturday that are expected to set the tone for broader tax reforms in the first full budget of the newly elected government.
The council may discuss the use of GST cess amount collected from sin goods such as pan masala, cigarettes, etc. which may amount to Rs 70,000 crore. Other discussions may include the conditional waiver of interest or penalty on tax notices issued between 2017 and 2020, barring cases of wilful default and review of the decision to levy 28 per cent GST on the full value of bets for online gaming companies
The GST Council may also deliberate on streamlining timelines for issuing notices, establishing monetary thresholds for pursuing disputes in the GST Appellate Tribunal, and setting a deadline for anti-profiteering cases. These reforms aim to minimize tax litigation and enhance the ease of doing business.
These measures are expected to provide respite to various sectors such as online gaming, insurance firms, banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), airlines, and shipping companies, which have been grappling with substantial tax liabilities.
Online gaming
With regard to the online gaming sector, the council is likely to review the decision to levy 28 per cent GST on the full value of bets for online gaming companies, which came into effect on October 1, 2023.
In its meetings in July and August, the GST Council had approved amendments to the law to include online gaming, casinos and horse racing as taxable
