50th GST Council Meeting updates: What You Need to Know
GST Council Meeting: At the beginning of the meeting being held in the national capital, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released a short film named ‘GST Council: 50 Steps Toward the Journey’. On the other hand, the Finance Minister’s Office tweeted, “In the 49 meetings held so far, the Council has taken approximately 1,500 decisions in the spirit of cooperative federalism.”
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has agreed to impose a 28 percent tax on online gaming. Food and drinks inside the cinema theater will also become cheaper now. After holding the GST council’s 50th meeting, it was said by Union Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman that we have presented an exemption on GST for the satellite launch services that have been provided by private organizations. Additionally, online gaming, horse racing, and casino gaming will be taxed at 28% (all three activities), and this tax will be levied on full face value.
The Finance Minister informed us that the GST rate on uncooked or unfried extruded snack pellets has been reduced from 18% to 5%. Rates of fish-soluble paste have also been reduced from 18% to 5%. The tax rate on imitation zari threads has been reduced from 12 percent to 5 percent.
After holding the GST Council meeting, “Sanjay Malhotra, the Revenue Secretary, has said that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has nothing to do with the GST law. He said that the notification bringing GSTN information under PMLA will empower our agencies with more information on tax evasion, which they were not getting earlier.
The establishment of appellate tribunals was also approved.
Earlier, West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said that the Council also approved an exemption from GST on the import of the cancer drug dinutuximab and food for special medical purposes (FSMP) used in the treatment of rare diseases. The GST Council has decided that the entire face value of betting at the entry point on online gaming, casinos, and horse racing will be taxed at a rate of 28 percent, he told reporters.
Here. The minister said that in the GST law, the change will be made to ensure that these three are not actionable claims like lotteries and betting.
Maharashtra Forest, Cultural, and Fisheries Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the council has sought to differentiate between games of skill and games of chance in the case of online gaming. It has been decided to abolish them. Tax will be payable on these at 28 percent of the total face value. Mung Antiwar further said that the Council has also approved the establishment of appellate tribunals.
FICCI Gaming Committee had opposed the increase in tax
However, a group of top online gaming firms represented by the FICCI Gaming Committee had urged the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) not to increase the GST rate for the sector to 28 percent. “This would be extremely detrimental to the survival of the online gaming industry, as no business can continue with such a high tax.”
The 50th meeting of the GST Council was held on Tuesday.
The 50th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was held on July 11, 2023, under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Even before the start of the meeting, there was speculation that this time the GST Council meeting would discuss issues like taxation on online gaming, the definition of utility vehicles, and the tightening of rules for registration and input tax credit (ITC) claims.
GST is reduced on food items available inside cinema halls.
A big decision has been taken by the council regarding tax on the sale of cinema (movie) tickets and food supply items like popcorn or cold drinks, etc. The council has announced to reduce GST on food items sold inside Cineplex’s to 5 percent instead of 18 percent. Earlier, cinema tickets priced below Rs. 100 were subject to 12 percent GST, while tickets above Rs. 100 were subject to 18 percent GST. Along with this, other products on which GST has been cut include uncooked food pellets, fish, and soluble pasties. The tax rate on these has been reduced from 18 percent to 5 percent.
No more IGST on cancer medicine.
The drugs used for the treatment of cancer have been exempt. If someone imports Dinutuximab, a cancer drug used in the treatment of rare diseases, from abroad, even for personal use, then IGST will not be charged on it. Till now, 12 percent tax has been levied on this. The cost of one dose is up to Rs. 63 lakh.
Similarly, an exemption from GST on the import of food for special medical purposes (FSMP) has also been approved. The Fitment Committee had said that the medicine, which costs Rs. 26 lakh and for which money is raised through crowd funding, should not be subject to GST.
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