With state elections over, GST Council to get a new look

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will get a new look post the state elections with incumbents in several states being voted out. New members to the GST Council are expected from Tamil Nadu, Keralam, West Bengal and Puducherry where new parties have been voted into power.

The GST Council, which decides on all issues related to the indirect tax levy, is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and includes the Minister of State for Finance and ministers from all states and union territories as members.

Usually, the Council takes decisions through consensus and discussions but in case any proposal is put to vote, the Centre has a weightage of one third of the total votes while the states together have a weightage of two thirds of the votes.

A meeting of the GST Council is expected later in June once the government formation process in the five states of Assam, Keralam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal is completed. Each of the states with new parties at the helm are expected to have their own strategies and priorities for the GST Council.

Already, in Bihar, Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Minister of Commercial Taxes Department has joined the GST Council as a member in place of Samrat Choudhary who is now the state’s chief minister.

The BJP-led alliance has won in Assam, Puducherry and West Bengal, which would give more support to the Union finance ministry. In Tamil Nadu, actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is likely to emerge as the single largest party while in Keralam, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has won the largest number of seats.  Economic policies of both the TVK and UDF will become clear in the coming days once the government is formed.  

The GST Council last met in September 2025 when it took up proposals for rate rationalisation and revamp of procedural norms as part of GST 2.0. Typically, the Council is expected to meet once every quarter.

While the agenda for the next meeting will be finalised only once it is scheduled, there are several pending issues with the GST Council. Further process reforms for ease of registration and refunds as well as easier compliance for micro, small and medium enterprises are expected to be taken up in the next meeting of the Council.