GST Council meet starts in Guwahati; Chidambaram expects 'shower of changes'

Guwahati: The 23rd meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is now underway and is being chaired by Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley.

The Council is likely to deliberate on a number of topics, including extended liberalization given to small traders, rate cuts on A/C restaurants from 18 to 12 per cent, and the issue of benami properties.

The Council is also expected to slash tax rates on various goods of common consumption such as handmade furniture, shampoo, sanitary ware, plywood, stationery articles, and play instruments, among others.

It is also likely to deliver its decision on the proposal for big businesses to file GST returns quarterly instead of monthly, and raising the sales ceiling for small businesses from Rs1 crore to Rs1.5 crore, thus enabling them to capitalise on the composition scheme, are among the proposals before the GST Council.

Earlier in the day, Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said he is hopeful of a "shower of changes in GST rates" in lieu of the council meeting.

The senior Congress Party leader took to twitter and said "Expect a shower of changes in GST rates from GST Council meeting today. Panic-stricken government has no option but to concede demands for change."

Stating that debates on GST can no longer be avoided on a public domain, Chidambaram opined that the letter written by the Congress-ruled state finance ministers to Finance Minister Jaitley would "set the tone for discussions" during the meeting.