The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on Tuesday dismissed reports indicating significant indirect tax rate changes and hikes on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates of various goods and services, as “premature and speculative”, and stressed that a ministerial group tasked with rationalising the multiple GST rates is yet to finalise its recommendations.
While the GST Council, which is set to meet in Jaisalmer on December 21, had constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to suggest a reform of its rate structure, the Council has not yet deliberated on any GST rate changes, a statement said.
“The Council has not even received the recommendations of the GoM. In fact, the GoM has yet to finalise and present its recommendations to the Council after which the Council will take a final view on the recommendations of the GoM,” it added.
“It is the GST Council chaired by the Union Finance Minister and including Ministers of all the States and Union Territories, which is empowered to recommend GST rates including changes to them. The GoM is only a recommendatory body,” it noted.
On Tuesday, stocks of firms with exposures to sin goods like cigarettes and aerated beverages, such as ITC, slipped as reports said the GoM, among other things, had recommended a hike in the GST levy on such goods from 28% to 35%.
Published – December 03, 2024 10:39 pm IST
