GST Council meeting: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 43rd GST Council meet today after a gap of almost eight months amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
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GST Council Meeting 2021: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 43rd good and services tax (GST) council meeting on Friday, May 28, through video conferencing. Even though one of the main agendas of the meeting was to deliberate on GST tax on COVID-related essentials, however, no consensus was reached on the reduction of tax rates over vaccines. The decision over tax rates on COOVID vaccines was referred to a group of ministers (GOM), which will be announced by June 8, said the Finance Minister while addressing a press conference after the GST Council meet.
According to sources, the GST council had announced that quarterly returns for small traders will continue and has provided relaxation of the late fee penalty for payment of GST. The Council will constitute a group of ministers to examine the Covid cess to be levied in Sikkim on the pharmaceutical and power sectors.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the meeting was attended by Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance, along with finance ministers and senior officials of the states and union territories. The meeting looked into states' request for a cut in GST rates on essential Covid-related supplies such as medicines, vaccines, etc.