The uncertainty over the holding of next GST Council meeting  has ended with the 48th meeting of the Council now proposed to be held on December 17,  nearly five and half months after the earlier meeting at Chandigarh. The surprise element this time will be that it will entirely be held through video conferencing.

It was earlier expected that the next GST Council meeting would be held at Madurai in Tamil Nadu around mid-December.  

“The 48th Meeting of the GST Council will be held on 17th December, 2022 by Video Conference”, the GST Council tweeted, putting an end to the uncertainty. 

Although there is still no indication of the likely agenda, the upcoming meet is widely expected to discuss the issues around ‘decriminalisation’ of GST provisions and the decision, if any, taken by the GST Council could form the basis for budget announcements by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 next year, sources said. 

With the preparations for Budget 2023-24 having commenced and expected to gather momentum in mid-December, there could be time-related constraints for a physical meeting away from Delhi for two days, they added.

Besides the ‘decriminalisation’ issue, the 48th GST Council is expected to discuss the reports of the two separate Group of State Finance Ministers (GoM) — one is on setting of GST Appellate tribunals and the other report is on fixing GST rate for Casinos, online gaming and horse racing.  Discussions may also revolve on the recommendations of the GoM on rate rationalisation, which had in June submitted an interim report.

Conrad Sangma, Meghalaya Chief Minister and head of the GoM on Casinos, online gaming and horse racing, said on Friday that the report of the GoM would be sent to the GST Council next week.

Earlier this week, the Sangma-headed GoM held its final meeting on the issue and is understood to have recommended a GST levy of 28 per cent on online gaming, irrespective of whether it is a game of skill or chance.

However, in the absence of consensus on whether the tax should be levied on only the fees charged by the portal or the entire consideration, including the bet amount received from participants, the GoM has decided to refer all the suggestions to the GST Council for a final decision.

The delay in holding of GST Council meeting had come in for some criticism from certain non-BJP ruled States, who felt the prescribed rule on this front is being given a go-by to suit the convenience of ruling dispensation at the Centre.

For instance, Amit Mitra, who is currently Principal chief advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, had recently written a letter to Sitharaman exhorting her to quickly convene a meeting of the GST Council, which had not met since end June. He highlighted that as per the Rules of Conduct, the GST Council has to meet every quarter in a fiscal year.

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