Suspense on GST rates to end soon

GST Council fix tax rates for goods and services this week; trial run to begin in June

After months long delay, the suspense over GST rates is likely to end this week as a key panel entrusted with the finalisation of rates would meet in Delhi this week.

The GST Council, which is appellate authority on Good and Services Tax, had constituted a subpanel, which comprises Telangana finance minister Etela Rajender also, to assign tax rates to different goods and services.

Though it was decided that GST would have five tax slabs, 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent, 28 per cent and over 28 per cent rates, no decision was taken on which goods and services fall under which tax slab.

The sub panel will assign tax rates for goods and services and submit to GST Council, which will meet on May 18 to approve slab rates.

The categorisation of goods and services under tax slabs forms an important part of the implementation process of GST as it would decided which goods and services would become cheaper and which costlier over the existing VAT, CST regimes.

At present, around 99 items enjoy exemption from VAT, while about 250 items are exempted from central excise duty.

The GST Council subpanel wants a common list of exemptions, in which essential commodities like foodgrains are included.

Officials sources said the tax rates categorised by the sub-panel are more or less will be the final rates and there is little chance of seeking further amendments on May 18.

“A consensus has been reached among all states on GST rates in the series of meetings conducted by GST Council since October last year. Based on the feedback we got from various states in these meetings, the tax rates for various goods and services will be fixed. These rates will be more or less final and GST Council meeting on May 18 would give its formal approval,” sources added.

The GST Council meeting is scheduled for two days in Srinagar from May 18 to approve the tax rates to enable roll out of GST regime from July 1.

As the July 1 deadline for the implementation of GST draws closer, the GST Council has speeded up the process to put up implementation mechanism in place by June itself so that a technical trial run could be run for a month over how to assess lakhs of invoices on a single day under the new internet-based GST regime.