GST Council to hold virtual meet; the panel of state ministers to look into taxation of online gaming, casinos

Currently, online gaming attracts 18 percent GST. The tax is levied on gross gaming revenue, which is the fees charged by online gaming portals

PGurus Newsdesk

December 16, 2022

Currently, online gaming attracts 18 percent GST. The tax is levied on gross gaming revenue, which is the fees charged by online gaming portals

The 48th meet of the GST Council to be held on Saturday

After a gap of nearly six months, the meeting of the GST Council, which is headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, would be held on Saturday through video conferencing, it was announced on Friday.

The panel of state ministers set up by the GST Council to look into taxation of online gaming and casinos, had on Thursday submitted its report to Sitharaman. The GST council is likely to take up the report in Saturday’s meeting.

The panel headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had met in November and agreed on a 28 percent GST on online gaming, casinos, and horse racing.

“The 48th Meeting of the GST Council will be held on 17th December 2022 by video conference,” the Finance Ministry tweeted on Friday.

The previous meeting of the GST Council was held in Chandigarh between June 28 and 29 this year.

Last month, former West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra had exhorted the Union Finance Ministry to “urgently” convene a meeting of the GST Council, saying that it had not met for almost six months.

Mitra, who is the principal chief advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a letter to Sitharaman, had said that as per rules of conduct, the GST Council should meet every quarter in a financial year.

In its previous meeting, the Council had raised GST on various items like LED lamps, solar water heaters, etc. It had also hiked GST from 12 percent to 18 percent on tetra packs. The rate changes recommended by the GST Council had become effective on July 18, 2022.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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