GST Council to discuss extension of the compensation window and tax on online gaming

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting is underway for the second day on Wednesday. The Council will be resuming on two specific agenda points, which were left out on Day 1.

Firstly, the revenue position of all the states will be presented before the Council and the average revenue shortfall will be discussed. It is expected that all the states will speak on their revenue positions.

Some of the Opposition-ruled states have come out in open and said that they would seek an extension of the compensation window, which is expiring on June 30, 2022.

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Uttarakhand Finance Minister Premchand Aggarwal said that he would want the Centre to either extend the window or provide an assistance of at least Rs 5,000 crore of yearly loss that they are facing through some other scheme.

Puducherry also said they would ask for a compensation hike for at least five years and that the window should be extended because they are the Union Territory (UT) that is facing the maximum revenue shortfall.

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan also said that the Centre should consider and listen to the requests for an extension to the compensation window because leaving states without compensation in today’s revenue position would have a negative impact on the states.

Apart from that, a GoM report on online gaming, casinos, race courses, and betting will also be on the agenda. It is believed that a 28 percent flat GST has been proposed. The GoM has also said that the GST should be uniform both in rates and valuation norms and that no distinction should be made on grounds of a game of skill or game of chance.