News Brief
Tax Rates Changed For Certain Goods And Services At GST Council Meeting: Here's All You Need To Know
Kuldeep Negi
Jun 23, 2024, 11:25 AM | Updated 11:25 AM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (22 June) chaired pre-Budget consultations with finance ministers of states and Union Territories.
The meeting aimed to gather their views ahead of the Union Budget.
It was followed by the 53rd meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council.
In the GST Council meeting, several key decisions were taken to address various tax exemptions and reforms:
Services by way of hostel accommodation outside educational institutions have been exempted from GST for charges up to Rs 20,000 per person per month. However, this exemption applies only if the student has stayed in the hostel for a continuous period of 90 days. This condition aims to prevent hotels from misusing the exemption.
The purchase of railway tickets and payments for waiting room and cloak room charges have been exempted from GST.
Services provided by battery-operated vehicles and intra-railway services will no longer attract GST.
The GST Council recommended a waiver of interest on penalties for tax demand notices.
A uniform GST rate of 12 percent has been set for milk cans.
During the pre-Budget meeting, Sitharaman emphasised the Centre's commitment to supporting states through timely tax devolution and GST compensation arrears to bolster growth.
She urged states to take advantage of the scheme under which the Centre provides a 50-year interest-free loan for undertaking specified reforms.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Kuldeep is Senior Editor (Newsroom) at Swarajya. He tweets at @kaydnegi.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.