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 liberalisation 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 Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 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:
Congress FMs letter to Mr Jaitley will set the tone for discussions in the GST Council today.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 10, 2017
Congress FMs letter exposes the structural flaws in the design and implementation of GST. Govt can no longer duck these issues.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 10, 2017
Expect a shower of changes in GST rates from GST Council meeting today. Panic-stricken govt has no option but to concede demands for change.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 10, 2017
Thanks to Gujarat elections, Govt forced to heed advice of Opposition and experts on flaws in implementation of GST.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 10, 2017
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.