Health and term insurance can be cheaper: GST Council meeting in Jaisalmer today, know the prices of which things will increase or decrease – Jaipur News

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In the meeting to be held in two phases today from 11 am, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary along with Chief Ministers of Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Odisha, Deputy Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana, Economic Affairs And secretaries of expenditure departments and senior officials of the finance ministry also attended.

The first meeting will take place at 1:45 pm. After this the second session will start from 4:30 pm. This will continue till late evening.

It is being told that decisions are likely to be taken in the meeting to change the GST rates on many items. Based on the recommendations of the Group of Ministers, GST on some items will be reduced, while tax on luxury items is likely to increase.

Read what decisions can be taken in the meeting..

Possibility of making health insurance up to Rs 5 lakh GST free There is a possibility of reducing the 18 percent GST rates charged on life insurance and health insurance. These rates can be increased from 5 percent to 12 percent. Health insurance up to Rs 5 lakh can be exempted from GST. GST on health insurance for the elderly can be completely removed.

GST may end on term insurance Most states are opposing the proposal to make general insurance and health insurance GST free. Therefore, only the proposal to reduce GST rates is likely to be approved, the proposal to make insurance completely GST free is likely to get stuck due to opposition from the states. Whereas GST on term insurance can be completely abolished.

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the pre-Budget consultation meeting with States and Union Territories (including Legislative Assemblies) for the upcoming Union Budget 2025-26 in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

Proposal to reduce GST rate on bottled water, notebooks, bicycles from 18% to 5% It is proposed to reduce GST on bottled water, note books and bicycles costing less than Rs 10,000 from 18% to 5%. Ordering food online can be cheaper. According to sources, in the GST Council meeting, the tax on online food delivery is likely to be reduced from 18% to 5%. This will make ordering food online cheaper. Companies doing online food delivery will also benefit from this.

Possibility of increase in GST on small petrol and diesel cars There is a possibility of a proposal to increase GST on small petrol and diesel cars (from 12 to 18%) in the GST Council meeting. It is considered certain to increase the GST rates on old and second hand vehicles to 6%. Currently, there is 12% GST on old used vehicles, which can now be increased to 18%.

Representatives of States participating in the Pre-Budget Consultation Meeting with States and Union Territories for the upcoming Union Budget 2025-26.

Consideration of increasing tax on tobacco products including cigarettes, gutkha The Group of Ministers has recommended increasing the tax rate on all types of tobacco products including gutkha and cigarettes. There is a suggestion to increase the tax rates on tobacco products from 28 to 35 percent. Its proposal will be placed in the GST Council. There is a possibility of increase in GST on these.

Apart from this, branded shoes and watches will be more expensive. In the GST Council meeting, it is considered certain to get approval to increase the tax on branded shoes costing more than Rs 15 thousand and watches costing more than Rs 25 thousand. There is a proposal to increase GST on shoes costing more than Rs 15 thousand from 18% to 28%, and to impose 28% GST on watches costing more than Rs 25 thousand.