Ahead of the union budget 2019, the all-powerful Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will meet on June 21 under the chairmanship of the newly elected union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

In order to curb tax leakages, the forthcoming GST Council will discuss the fresh proposal of e-ticketing cinema tickets and reducing rates on electric vehicles and related supplies from the current 12 percent to 5 percent.

The 35th meeting of the GST Council may discuss eight-member Group of Ministers (GoM) recommendations on the lottery tax rate, which favoured hiking GST rate on the state-organised lottery to either 18 percent or 28 percent.

Currently, a state-organised lottery attracts 12 percent GST while a state-authorised lottery attracts 28 percent tax.

Further, the council is likely to discuss Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) recommendations, which were given on the time of GST rollout, regarding reduced tax rates on sale and leasing of motor vehicles.

"If the electrical vehicles have to be promoted in India, the government must ensure a lower rate of GST as otherwise, the purchase of EV will be a challenge. It needs to be attractive from price point and one of the parameters is to have a low GST rate," said Anita Rastogi, Partner, GST and Indirect Tax at PwC India.

First Published:Jun 19, 2019 12:32 PM IST