GST Council may take up e-game tax in December meet

It will also be new Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra’s first GST Council meeting. He will take charge after the incumbent Tarun Bajaj retires on November 30.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting is now expected to take place in December, and the panel may decide on taxing online games, decriminalising certain offences, and setting up an appellate tribunal, a senior official told Business Standard.

The official said there were discussions on holding the meeting in November, but it was felt that it should be held after the upcoming state assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Earlier, the council meeting was expected to be held in August in Madurai.

Notably, this will be new Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra’s first GST Council meeting. He will take charge after the incumbent Tarun Bajaj retires on November 30.

On taxing fantasy games, the empowered group of ministers (GoM) formed by the council to look into the matter may not suggest any significant changes to its earlier recommendation of imposing a levy of 28 per cent on gross gaming revenue (GGR).

In its first report, the GoM, headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, recommended that online gaming activities should be taxed at a flat 28 per cent on the full value of consideration, without making any distinction between games of skill and chance.

“That stand may remain unchanged, as bringing in a distinction would complicate the interpretation,” said another official in the know.

Other reports

Apart from online gaming, GoM reports on setting up an appellate tribunal and decriminalising some offences are also likely to be tabled during the meeting.

With regard to the tribunal, a GoM headed by Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala is learnt to have readied the framework and has proposed setting up more than one bench in a state.

It may also suggest relaxing criteria for appointment of members. At present, GST matters are taken up by high courts in the absence of a dedicated tribunal, which has led to piling up of cases.

On decriminalisation, the revenue department is working on doing away with jail terms for minor tax evasions and settling them through compounding.

The department is even considering rationalising the threshold set for arrest in non-cognisable and bailable offences under the GST regime.

Sources say it may hike the monetary limit to Rs 2 crore from the current Rs 1 crore, with a minimum jail term of a year. The proposed measures are expected to be tabled during the Council meeting.

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