The 54th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, concluded at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi, on Monday. Key decisions expected from the panel included a reduction in GST on health insurance premiums, a proposal to tax online payments exceeding Rs 2,000, and a review of Infosys’ Rs 32,400 crore tax notice.
Sitharaman announced that the GST on online gaming has led to a 412 per cent increase in revenue, according to a status report submitted to the fitment committee. The council also decided to form a new Group of Ministers (GoM) to review the GST rate on medical health insurance. This GoM is tasked with submitting its report by the end of October.
In a move to reduce cancer treatment costs, the GST on cancer drugs has been reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. Additionally, the GST on selected namkeen snacks will be reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.
Foreign airlines received relief as the GST Council decided to exempt the import of services by these airlines. Universities and research centres established by central or state government laws, or those granted income tax exemptions, will now be exempt from GST on research funding. This means these institutions can receive research funds from both public and private sources without GST liabilities.
The council also discussed the GST cess, revealing a projected total cess collection of Rs 8.66 lakh crore until March 2026. After settling loan payments, a projected surplus of around Rs 40,000 crore is expected. Sitharaman confirmed that a GoM will be formed to decide the future of the cess beyond March 2026, as it will no longer be termed as Compensation cess.
Finally, the GST Council introduced a new Business-to-Customer (B2C) GST invoicing system, which will come into effect from October 1.
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