GST Council meets today to deliberate on tax rates for commodities and services

The Goods and Service Tax, GST Council will meet today in Srinagar to deliberate on tax rates on commodities and services. The meeting will be chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and it will be attended by the Finance Ministers of all States and Union Territories.

AIR correspondent reports that the meeting is seen significant as it will decide on the most important aspect of the GST that will have a bearing on common people.

The Council over the next two days will fit most of goods and services in either 5, 12, 18 or 28 per cent tax bracket.

The new rates fixed by the council will be charged from 1st of July, the scheduled date for rollout of Goods and Services Tax. The tax rates will be decided in a fashion to keep their impact on inflation as well as revenues to the government near neutral.

The GST will be a national sales tax that will be levied on consumption of goods or use of services.

It will replace seven central taxes like excise duty and service tax and nine state taxes like VAT and entertainment tax, thereby creating India as one market with one tax rate.