GST Council Meeting: CMs To CBIC Officials—Who Are Deliberating On Next-Gen Tax Reforms?

The 56th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council commenced today in the national capital, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The session is expected to deliberate on major reforms including GST slab rationalisation, compliance simplification, and sector-specific tax reliefs.

Attending the talks are various chief ministers, deputy chief ministers and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance. The participants included Union Minister for State for Finance Shri, Chief Ministers of Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Odisha.

The meeting will also see the participation of Deputy Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana. Governor of Manipur, the Finance Ministers of States/UTs, besides Secretary of Department of Revenue will also be in attendance.

The Council is reviewing proposals to merge the 12% and 28% GST slabs into either 5% or 18%, and introduce a new 40% rate for sin goods. Discussions also include resolving the inverted duty structure affecting sectors like textiles, footwear, and fertilisers.

This meeting marks a pivotal moment for next-generation GST reforms, with outcomes likely to impact pricing across key industries such as FMCG, auto, insurance, and cement.