New Delhi: The GST Council has reconstituted the Group of Ministers on GST revenue analysis which will suggest sector-specific issues that need policy intervention, and the feasibility of a unified enforcement platform to check tax evasion.
The GST Council, in its 55th meeting on December 21, 2024, had decided to reconstitute the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST revenue analysis with a revised ToR. The GoM was first set up in 2019.
The reconstituted GoM on ‘Analysis of Revenue from GST’ under Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, would have nine members including from the states of Bihar (Samrat Chaudhary), Chhattisgarh (O P Choudhary), Gujarat (Kanubhai Desai), Andhra Pradesh (P Keshav), Maharashtra (Ajit Pawar), Punjab (Harpal Singh Cheema), Tamil Nadu (Thangam Thennarasu) and Telangana (M B Vikramarka).
As per the expanded ToR, the GoM would analyse the state-wise revenue collection trend, including the identification of revenue patterns across sectors and regions. It would also review details of revenue from the inter-state outward supply. It would also conduct a review of sector-wise analysis and identify sector-specific issues that need policy intervention or enforcement measures.
The GoM would also analyse the effect of macroeconomic policy changes and geographical factors on GST revenues, challenges faced by agrarian and smaller states, and analyse the impact of amendments made in GST acts and rules.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out on July 1, 2017. Since then the Act and its rules have been amended to make it easier for businesses after approval of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister and comprising state counterparts.
The GOM would “review and recommend harmonisation of anti-evasion, audit, scrutiny tools developed by various agencies (NIC, GSTN, DGARM, state governments) to create a unified enforcement and compliance platform”.
It would also suggest suitable measures/policy intervention for course correction for revenue augmentation, particularly for states suffering high revenue shortfall.
The expanded ToR of the GoM comes at a time when another GoM, under Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, is already working on rationalisation of GST rates and slabs.
Besides, there is another GoM, under Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, to decide on the fate of compensation cess and taxation proposal to replace it once it ends on March 31, 2026.
Gross GST collections from April-February this fiscal has grown 9.4 per cent to about Rs 20.13 lakh crore.
After adjusting for refunds, the collections grew 8.6 per cent to Rs 17.79 lakh crore on net basis between April-February.