Several decisions have been taken related to Goods and Service tax – GST in the 55th meeting of the GST Council held in  Jaisalmer of Rajasthan today. The meeting was chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It was attended by the Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, State Finance Ministers and officials of the Ministry of Finance.

Later, addressing a press conference Ms. Sitharaman said, the GST Council has decided rate cut on fortified rice kernels to 5 per cent and recommends amendment to definition of pre-packaged and labelled items. She said, the GST Council has decided to reduce or exempt tax rates on many items. Ms. Sitharaman  said that the Gene-therapy has been exempted from GST. Also, GST will not be levied on the penal charges, late payment fees of banks and NBFCs. She said that it has also been decided to exempt the training partners of the National Skill Development Council from GST, but this decision will come into effect after the notification is issued.

The Finance Minister said that the states have opposed bringing Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) under the purview of GST, so no decision has been taken on it . The Group of Ministers will work further on reducing the GST rate on health insurance. The Finance Minister said that there was also a discussion about the tax on the delivery platform, but no decision has been taken. Ms. Sitharaman said that today the Council has given in-principle approval on the concept note to remove the difficulties faced in the registration of small companies.

The proposal to reduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) on delivery charges for food ordered through e-commerce platforms has been deferred. The Council deferred discussions on insurance matters after the GoM reported a lack of consensus on the issue.