The 54th GST council meeting was held on Monday 9th September in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and attended by key officials from the Finance Ministry, State Finance ministers and tax officials. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the meeting:-

Namkeens and Extruded/Expanded Savoury food products

The GST rates on Namkeen and savoury food products (other than un-fried or un-cooked snack pellets) will be brought down to 12 per cent from 18 per cent.

Transport of passengers by helicopters

The GST council has decided to cut GST on religious travel via helicopter to 5 per cent from the previous 18 per cent.

Cancer Drugs

To make cancer treatment more affordable, the council has decided to reduce the GST rate on cancer drugs namely, Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.

Car seats

GST increased on Car Seats from 18% to 28% which is now the same as GST applicable on Bike seats i.e. 28%. The change would be applicable prospectively.

Research funding

The Council has exempted GST for research funding/grants for higher educational research. This applies to both central and state-affiliated universities.

Roof Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) Air Conditioning Machines

A GST rate of 28% is applicable on Roof Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) Air Conditioning Machines for Railways.  

Relief for foreign airlines

The GST Council has decided to exempt import services by foreign airline companies.

Medical Insurance Premiums

 It was highly anticipated that there would be some relief in Health insurance premiums. 

However, in this meeting Council has differed on the decision and the final decision will be taken at the next meeting.

The health insurance premiums debate has gained significant attention after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari advocated for the reduction of the   GST on health insurance premiums. Following this, it was further escalated in the parliament. In addressing the matter, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that “75 per cent of the GST collected goes to the states” For exemption of GST on Health Insurance premiums it would require input from the state governments. Currently, 18% GST is applicable on both health and life insurance policies. Reportedly the government has collected â‚ą8,262.94 crore through GST on health insurance premiums in the FY 2023-24. The council has decided to form a new group of ministers (GoM) on GST rate reduction on Health Insurance premiums. This GoM will be headed by the Deputy chief minister of Bihar – Mr Samrat Chaudhary. They have been asked to submit a report by October end so that the council will be able to finalize GST rates based on the submitted report.

Online Gaming Casinos and Horse racing

The GST Council has decided to maintain the existing GST rate for online gaming, casinos, and horse racing. FM updated that revenue from online gaming increased 412% in cash which is about Rs 6,909 crore in six months (October 2023 until March 2024), while GST revenue from casinos has also increased by 30%.

Renting of commercial property

To prevent Revenue leakage the GST Council has decided to bring renting of commercial property by an unregistered person to a registered person under the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM)

Other discussions

The decision to apply 18 % GST on transactions less than INR 2,000 processed by payment aggregators will go on to the fitment committee for further review as it can impact customers’ ability to make small online payments and small merchants.

On Compensation of cess, the GST council has agreed to form a GoM, which will decide how to move forward on compensation of cess which will cease after March 2026

The GST Council recommended the rollout of a pilot for B2C e-invoicing, following the successful implementation of e-invoicing in the B2B sector. The pilot will be rolled out voluntarily in selected Sectors and States.