GST Fitment committee likely to meet tomorrow to review GST slab mergers

The Goods and Services Fitment Committee is likely to meet tomorrow to review the proposal of GST slab mergers. The feasibility of merging the 12 per cent and 18 per cent to a single slab may be looked into, a source said.

Following this, a group of ministers (GoM) on GST rate rationalising may later this week meet if the need is as per Fitment committee's discussion. "Fitment committee has been meeting over various issues and will soon submit the review report to Group of Ministers on rate rationalisation, as per the final discussion." added a source.

If the GoM on rate rationalisation concurs with as to what Fitment committee suggests, then they will send their final report to GST council and the final decision will be taken by GST council.

“We were supposed to meet in February, but due to the global situation and elections in various states, we had to delay this meeting. Following our meeting, the GST Council will take a call on the recommendations made by the group of ministers (GoM)," a government official told Business Today TV.

The GoM has reportedly met only twice since its constitution in September 2021. Led by Karnataka Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, the GoM has not been able to conclude deliberations on revising and rationalising GST rates.

Last December, the 46th GST Council meeting decided to drop a plan to hike GST rates for most textiles products in the man-made value chain from 5 per cent to 12 per cent. At the same time, the Council did not roll back their decision on hiking the GST for low-cost footwear.

Industry expects the government may propose a single 15 per cent GST slab by merging the existing 12 per cent and the 18 per cent slab. The 15th Finance commission led by former bureaucrat N.K. Singh had also called for a three-slab GST rate structure.