GST COUNCIL - Handbook of GST Law & Procedures (CBIC) [October 2024] - GST

3. GST COUNCIL 3.1 GST Council is a constitutional body, consisting of representatives from both Union and State Governments. It consists of the Union Finance Minister as the Chairperson, Minister of State for Finance (Revenue) as Member and the Minister in-charge of Tax or Finance or any nominated Minister of the State as Member. 3.2. The GST Council is supported by the GST Council Secretariat and headed by the Revenue Secretary. 3.3 The purpose of GST Council is to act as a converging platform for the Union and the State Governments for them to work in a harmonious manner towards a common goal. The GST Council takes decisions in the periodical GST Council Meetings, which are then communicated to the Centre and the State in the form of recommendations. The minutes of GST Council meetings are published in the official website https://gstcouncil.gov.in. 3.4 The aim of the GST Council is to carry out its function in a consensual and harmonious manner with respect to formulation and implementation of GST Law across the country. 3.5 The GST Council is empowered to make recommendations to the Union and the State Governments on the taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the Union, the States and the local bodies (like Municipal Corporation/Council, Panchayats, etc.) which may be subsumed in the GST; the goods and services that may be subjected to or exempted from the GST; model GST laws, principles of levy, apportionment of GST levied on supplies in the course of inter-State trade or commerce and the principles that govern the place of supply; the threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services may be exempted from GST; the rates including floor rates with bands of GST; any special rate or rates for a specified period, to raise additional resources during any natural calamity or disaster; special provision with respect to the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand; any other matter relating to the GST, as the Council may decide; the date on which the GST be levied on Petroleum Crude, High Speed Diesel, Motor Spirit (Petrol), Natural Gas and Aviation Turbine Fuel.