The 53rd meeting of the GST Council will be held on June 22, 2024 in New Delhi. The last meeting of the GST Council was held on October 7, 2023 under the chairpersonship of the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The 53rd meeting of the GST Council will be held on 22nd June, 2024 at New Delhi.

— GST Council (@GST_Council) June 13, 2024

The GST council will be meeting for the first time after NDA returned to power for third time straight. Nirmala Sitharaman was again given the responsibility of Finance Ministry for the second consecutive term. She is slated to soon present the final Budget for FY25, that is going to set the tone for the government’s priorities and direction in the next couple of years. The Council will also see new representatives of state governments due to new governments in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha, and Arunachal Pradesh.

The 53rd meeting is convened before the first Parliamentary session of 18th Lok Sabha which is scheduled from June 24. The agenda for the meeting is, however, unclear at the moment and will be firmed up in the next few days.

It is worth noting that the Council was supposed to review the new tax regime for the real money gaming sector effective from 1 October 2023. The review, however, could not be undertaken due to the general elections in April and May 2024. Industry, that is battered by high tax rates, hopes for a positive outcome from the Council meeting.

However, a senior government official, aware of the matter, disclosed in April that the Council is positioned to maintain the existing 28 percent GST rate on the face value of online gaming bets. The Council is also expected to discuss the issue of retrospective tax dues which is coming up for a final hearing in July 2024.