GST Council Meet: 18% GST on online payments below ₹2,000 not finalised, pilgrims' helicopter services GST cut

The GST council has not finalised the proposal to impose taxes on online payments below ₹2,000, and has referred it to the fitment committee for review

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has not yet reached a decision on applying an 18% GST on transactions below ₹2,000 processed by payment aggregators, CNBC-TV18 reported.

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman chairs the 54th meeting of the GST Council, at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PTI)

The matter, which will impact customers' ability to make small online payments, is to be referred to the GST fitment committee for further review, Uttarakhand Finance Minister Premchand Aggarwal said.

This comes as part of the discussions held during the 54th GST Council meeting on September 9, 2024, pertaining to the proposal of levying an 18% GST on the income payment aggregators make from smaller transactions under ₹2,000.

The fitment committee will now be studying the possible implications and results if such a move is made and prepare a detailed report for the GST Council to use and consider.

This proposed tax on online payments smaller than ₹2,000 would affect the payment gateways and aggregators that process these transactions, along with the users since online payments may become more expensive.

What are the other matters discussed in the 54th GST Council meet?

GST on helicopter services specifically for pilgrims and tourists will be reduced from 18% to 5%.

The discussion also involved GST-related matters on life and health insurance policies as the insurance sector has been a topic of concern with policymakers trying to balance between boosting the sector's growth and taxing it fairly. No concrete proposals have been finalised so far.

The fitment committee will also be reviewing the topic of GST on the research and development activities in educational institutions.

Apart from all these, notices were issued by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) to seven universities, including IIT Delhi and Punjab University, over research grants worth ₹220 crore.