Top News

The Group of Ministers (GoM) has decided to make some big changes to the GST tax rates. They agreed to remove the 12% and 28% GST slabs and keep only two slabs now—5% and 18%. This is supposed to make things simpler for businesses and people buying stuff. Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister, Samrat Choudhary, told the media about this on August 21. It sounds like this change will make GST easier to understand and follow.

In addition to the slab rationalisation, West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya emphasized that ultra-luxury cars should be subjected to an additional tax over the existing 40 per cent GST rate. This suggestion highlights the government’s focus on ensuring higher taxation for luxury items, potentially increasing revenue from high-end goods.

These changes are part of ongoing efforts to streamline the GST system, making it more efficient and equitable while balancing revenue needs with taxpayer ease.

GoM Approves And Supports New Slabs

Speaking to reporters, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Health Minister, West Bengal said, “All the states are with the common people, but I raised in the meeting that if the states are going to lose the revenue, then that ultimately goes back to the common people so we want to know how we are going to be compensated. The GoM will now send its report to the GST Council with the notings of our concern we raised.”

She further added, “We don’t know what is the revenue loss by this GST rate cut. They have not assessed yet. In the GST Council we will get to know.”

Speaking on the revenue loss, Uttar Pradesh Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna said, “The presentation given at the Centre did not mention how much loss is being incurred, so we cannot say how much loss there will be from working like GST. But our point is that the common people should benefit from this.”
In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced restructuring aimed at rationalising the existing GST structure, which currently includes multiple tax slabs per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent, and 28 per cent.

The Group of Ministers (GoM) met today with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss her ministry’s proposals on GST rates. These proposals were initially shared with the public on India’s 79th Independence Day, August 15, 2025. During his speech at the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also highlighted the importance of these proposed changes. The meeting aimed to review and consider the suggested GST rate adjustments as part of the government’s broader effort to simplify the tax system and improve its efficiency for both businesses and consumers across India.

(With Inputs Taken From ANI)

The post Centre Moves To Simplify GST: GoM Approves And Supports New Slabs Of 5% and 18% appeared first on NewsX.