Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, during the 56th meeting of the GST Council, in New Delhi on September 3, 2025. Several CM’s of States attend the meeting.
| Photo Credit: ANI

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The GST Council on Monday (September 9, 2024) is expected to deliberate on a host of issues, including taxation of insurance premium, GoM’s suggestions on rate rationalisation, and a status report on online gaming, sources said.

Sources claimed the fitment committee, comprising Centre and State tax officials, will present a report on GST levied on life, health and reinsurance premiums and the revenue implications.

The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, will decide on whether to reduce the tax burden on health insurance from the current 18% or exempt certain categories of individuals, like senior citizens.

The deliberations will also happen concerning the goods and services tax (GST) cut on life insurance premium.

In 2023-24, the Centre and States collected ₹8,262.94 crore through GST on health insurance premiums, while ₹1,484.36 crore was collected on account of GST on health reinsurance premium.

The issue of taxation on insurance premiums figured in Parliament discussions with opposition members demanding that health and life insurance premiums be exempt from GST. Even Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari wrote to Ms. Sitharaman on the issue.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her reply to the discussion on the Finance Bill had said 75% of the GST collected goes to states and opposition members should ask their State finance ministers to bring the proposal at the GST Council.

West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya had raised the issue in the meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation last month and the matter was referred to the fitment committee for further data analysis.

The GoM had opined against any tinkering with a four-tier GST slab of 5, 12, 18, and 28% for the time being. The panel, however, had asked the fitment committee to look into any scope for rationalisation of rates of goods and services.

Regarding online gaming, Centre and State tax officers will present a “status report” before the GST Council. The report would include GST revenue collection from the online gaming sector before and after October 1, 2023.

From October 1, 2023, entry-level bets placed on online gaming platforms and casinos were subject to 28% GST. Before that, many online gaming companies were not paying 28% GST, arguing that there were differential tax rates for games of skill and games of chance.

The GST Council in its meeting in August 2023 had clarified that online gaming platforms were required to pay 28% tax and subsequently Central GST law was amended to make the taxation provision clear.

Offshore gaming platforms were also mandated to register with GST authorities and pay taxes, failing which the government would block those sites.

The council had then decided that the taxation on the online gaming sector would be reviewed after six months of its implementation.

Sources said the Council would deliberate on the status of taxation on the sector and any change in tax rates is unlikely.

Besides, the Council is likely to be apprised about the ongoing drive against fake registration, the success of the drive, and action taken against such entities. The total amount of suspected GST evasion would also be presented before the Council.

The drive, from August 16, 2024, to October 15, 2024, is aimed at detecting suspicious/fake GSTINs and to conduct requisite verification and further remedial action to weed out these fake billers.

In the first drive between May 16, 2023, to July 15, 2023, against fake registration, 21,791 entities (11,392 pertaining to state tax jurisdiction and 10,399 pertaining to CBIC jurisdiction) having GST registration were discovered to be non-existent.

An amount of ₹24,010 crore (State – ₹8,805 crore + Centre – ₹15,205 crore) of suspected tax evasion was detected during the special drive.

Also, the Council would approve notifications, including that of the amnesty scheme, announced in the last council meeting. The various amendments to GST law decided by the council in its previous meeting on June 22 were passed by Parliament last month vide Finance Act, 2024.

The council’s June meeting took a host of taxpayer-friendly measures, including waiver of interest and penalty for demand notices issued in the first three years of GST — 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 — if the full tax demanded is paid by March 31, 2025.

To reduce litigation, a monetary limit for tax officers, to file appeals before the GST Appellate Tribunal, the High Court and the Supreme Court was fixed at ₹20 lakh, ₹1 crore and ₹2 crore, respectively, by the Council.

It also recommended a reduction of the quantum of pre-deposit required to be paid by taxpayers for filing of appeals under goods and services tax (GST).

New Delhi:

The reconstituted Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST for rate rationalisation met for the first time on Thursday.

West Bengal finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya says she has put in a request to reduce GST rates of 18 per cent on life and health insurance premiums.

She said, “I have placed the request of reducing GST on life and health insurance. I have been told that the fitment committee is looking into it.”

Krishna Byre Gowda, Karnataka Minister said, “We have discussed the issue of relaxation in GST rates on insurance; we have asked for more data on it”

On rate rationalisation or reducing the number of slabs under GST Bhattacharya said, “No member of the rate rationalisation committee is in favour of changing or reducing the number of current slabs under GST”

On changes in current GST slabs Krishna Byre Gowda, says, “Why disturb something which is going on smoothly.”

However, sources from the GoM told ANI that, this was the first meeting of the reconstituted GoM on rate rationalisation and no decision has been taken on reducing slabs, cutting GST rates on different items or reducing GST rate on life and health insurance premiums.

Proposals have come for reducing rates for Insurance, hospitality and beverages, and the online gaming sector, among many. The GoM for rate rationalisation was reconstituted in June 2024, after the formation of the new government at the centre and new state governments in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary was appointed as the convenor of the GoM on GST rate rationalisation. The other members of the reconstituted panel are Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, and Rajasthan Medical, and Health Services Minister Gajendra Singh.

The GoM also include West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, and Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal.

GST rate rationalisation has been pending before the committee for a long time and it was anticipated that a decision would be taken regarding the fitment of the listed items under each GST slab. Particularly, products widely used by the public may be suggested for a transition from the 12% high-rate slab to the 5 per cent slab.

In the last GST Council meeting held on June 22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced several significant measures, including Aadhaar biometric integration, and exemptions in railway services, among others.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra during the 50th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council Meeting at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi, on July 11, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, at its 50th meeting on July 11, reduced or clarified the tax rate on some items ranging from uncooked or unfried snack pellets to special utility vehicles (SUVs), exempted imported drugs to treat cancer and rare diseases, and brought an end to a years-long debate on tax treatment of online gaming, casinos and horse racing.

Whether they involve skill or chance, or both or neither, bets and wagers made on all three activities, will attract a 28% levy and the GST laws will be amended to include online gaming, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The Council also examined States’ proposals to set up 50 Benches of the much-awaited GST Appellate Tribunals in the country. The government has said that the statutory bodies to resolve mounting GST disputes shall become operational within four to six months, with Benches coming up in State capitals as well as places where High Courts have Benches, to begin with. The Council cleared the appointment and service conditions for tribunal members and the president, which will kick in from August 1.

The first meeting of the Council since February got off to a stormy start. Representatives of States not ruled by the BJP criticised the Union government’s recent decision to bring the GST Network under the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), administered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The arguments were led by the Finance Ministers of Delhi and Punjab.

Ms. Sitharaman, who chaired the meeting, said many States had raised concerns about the issue and it was discussed after the listed agenda was concluded. Tamil Nadu, for instance, said that the inclusion of GSTN under the PMLA provisions is against the interests of taxpayers and against the basic objective of decriminalising the offences under the GST law.

Also read | Real money gaming industry reacts with shock to GST on deposits

“As this would affect the dealers across the country, especially small dealers, Tamil Nadu opposes the move,” a press statement from the State government said.

Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra presented an explanation of the new provision to the Council, which he said members seemed “quite satisfied with”.

“This notification has been issued under Section 66 of the PMLA and has nothing to do with the GST law. It has been issued as it is a requirement of the Financial Action Task Force and our evaluation is under process,” he said.

Dispelling doubts that the GSTN is now going to share information about private businesses with other law enforcement agencies, including the ED, Mr. Malhotra said the ED will neither be receiving nor providing information.

“It was also clarified that this notification will empower our tax authorities with more information. The director of the Financial Intelligence Unit will provide information to the GSTN to empower the authorities wherever it feels there is a chance of tax evasion or money laundering; this information can be used as they deem fit,” he said.

The GST rate on uncooked, unfried snack pellets and fish soluble paste was slashed from 18% to 5%, while imitation zari threads or yarn will now attract 5% GST instead of 12%. The Council also decided that food and beverages consumed inside cinema halls shall attract 5% GST without any input tax credits, as opposed to 18% levied on cinema services.

The tax treatment on SUVs, which attract a higher GST compensation cess on top of the 28% GST levy, was also clarified taking into account concerns expressed by Tamil Nadu and Punjab that the higher cess levy must not affect sedans.

“Till now, for a vehicle to be categorised as SUV with higher compensation cess — four conditions had to be met. They had to be generally considered an SUV, were longer than four metres, with an engine of 1500 cc or more, and a ground clearance of 170 mm,” said the Revenue Secretary.

The Council has decided to scrap the condition that the vehicle should be popularly seen as an SUV, and clarified that the ground clearance of 170 mm should be of an unladen vehicle.

“On services, we have offered exemption on GST for satellite launch services provided by private organisations,” Ms. Sitharaman said.