Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is holding the 56th meeting of the GST Council, in New Delhi, today with Union Minister for State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhury and various representatives of the states including Chief Ministers of Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Odisha; Deputy Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana; Governor of Manipur.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced GST reforms during his independence day speech. Center has proposed rate rationalization and simplified tax structure under GST reforms. Currently, GST has a four slab structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Now, the center has proposed a two slab structure of 5% and 18% , with 40% slab sin items like tobacco products, pan masala etc. With GST meeting underway, businesses and consumers are hoping some major reliefs that could ease compliances and enhance spending respectively.