The 37th meeting of the GST council is underway in Goa. CNBC-TV18 is picking up that the GST Council has decided to make GSTR9, GSTR9A, GSTR9C optional for taxpayers with turnover up to Rs 2 crore for FY18 & 19. The Council has also decided to further simplify GSTR9 in future.

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Sources in the know are also indicating that the Council has approved hiking tax rate on caffeinated drinks. It’s noteworthy that the proposal was to increase the rate from 18 to 28 percent with 12 percent additional cess.

Furthermore, the GST Council has also approved a proposal to cut rates on hotels tariffs. Hotel rates above Rs 7,500, which is in the 20 percent bracket, will now be put in the 18 percent bracket. Tariff below Rs 7,500 will be now in the 12 percent category.

Also, the GST Council has decided to reduce rates on outdoor catering to 5 percent without the input tax credit and the issue of uniform rate on the lottery is referred back to Group of Ministers (GoM) on the lottery.

Earlier in the day, 15th Finance Commission chief NK Singh made a detailed presentation before the GST Council. He suggested the Council to deliberate on having either one, or at maximum, two slabs under the GST regime in future. He also advocated hiking tax rates to meet the necessary revenue requirements.

Sources have told CNBC-TV18 that the Council may consider merging the two brackets, 12 and 18 percent, into a single bracket in-line with global standards once revenue stabilises. Another suggestion from Mr Singh was that various exemptions provided under GST may be gradually removed.

This is a developing story and will be updated shortly

First Published:Sept 20, 2019 7:21 PM IST