At its 53rd meeting on Saturday, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council announced the implementation of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication across India to tackle the issue of fake invoicing used to fraudulently claim input tax credit (ITC), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated.
Following the successful completion of two pilot projects, the nationwide rollout of this authentication system will be executed in phases, Sitharaman mentioned during a press conference.
To streamline GST registration, Aadhaar biometric authentication will now be mandatory for all new registrations throughout the country, she added.
"This initiative will aid in combating fraudulent input tax credit claims made through fake invoices," said Sitharaman.
Additionally, the Finance Minister announced the formation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) tasked with rationalising GST rates, chaired by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. This GoM will present a status report at the next meeting.
Sitharaman noted that while several decisions were made during Saturday's meeting, not all GST-related issues could be addressed in the agenda.
The GST Council is scheduled to reconvene after the Budget Session of Parliament concludes, with the next meeting expected to take place in mid-August, she added.
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