GST Council: Jaitley, state ministers meet in Srinagar amid tight security

The GST will be a national sales tax that will be levied on the consumption of goods or use of services. It will replace seven central taxes and nine state taxes, thereby creating India as one market with one tax rate.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley is in Srinagar to chair the 14th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meet that deliberates on tax rates on commodities and services.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley arrives to attend the 14th GST Council meet in Srinagar on Thursday. (PTI)

Over the next two days, the summit will fit most goods and services in the 5, 12, 18 or 28% tax bracket. The rates fixed will be charged from July 1, the scheduled date for rolling out GST.

The meeting, attended by finance ministers of states and union territories, is being held amid tight security at the Sher-I-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the Dal Lake. Kashmir’s top cops are overseeing arrangements.

As the dignitaries arrived, Jammu and Kashmir finance minister Haseeb Drabu told reporters that the GST will benefit the common man. The tax rates will be decided in a fashion to keep their impact on inflation and revenues to the government near neutral.

The GST will be a national sales tax that will be levied on the consumption of goods or use of services.

It will replace seven central taxes such as excise duty and service tax and nine state taxes like VAT and entertainment tax, thereby creating India as one market with one tax rate.

(With ANI inputs)