Delhi (India), February 18, 2023: The 49th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has begun in New Delhi. The Council is likely to discuss establishing goods and services tax appellate tribunals (GSTATs) and mechanisms to curb tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha businesses.
Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur and Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories are in attendance, along with senior officers from the Union Government and States.
The Council is expected to address issues that could not be discussed in the last meeting, held on December 17, 2022.
It will also take into consideration the report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari on checking tax evasion by the pan masala and gutkha industries.
The GoM had recommended that the GST Appellate Tribunals consist of two judicial members and one technical member each from the Center and states, with a retired Supreme Court judge as president.
The Council meeting is expected to come to a conclusion by the end of the day with a formal announcement of the decisions taken.
