Partial Modification of the Membership of GST Law Committee

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its 42nd meeting held on October 5th, 2021, has partially modified the membership of the GST Law Committee. The GST Law Committee is a body of experts responsible for providing recommendations to the GST Council on various issues related to GST law, rules, and procedures. The modification of the committee's membership is aimed at ensuring that there is a wider representation of stakeholders and experts from various fields in the committee.

The GST Law Committee was set up in 2017 to provide recommendations on GST-related issues to the GST Council. The committee comprises of representatives from the Centre and the States, as well as experts from various fields such as legal, taxation, and accounting. The committee has been instrumental in providing recommendations on issues such as GST rates, input tax credit, and the simplification of GST return filing procedures.

The modification of the committee's membership has been done with the objective of ensuring that there is a wider representation of stakeholders and experts from various fields in the committee. The modified committee will now have a total of 30 members, including 15 members from the Centre and 15 members from the States. Previously, the committee had 15 members, including 7 members from the Centre and 8 members from the States.

The modified committee will include representatives from various industries such as manufacturing, services, and trading, as well as experts from fields such as law, tax, and accounting. The committee will also have representation from industry associations, such as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The modified committee will be chaired by the Revenue Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, and the co-chair will be the GST Council Joint Secretary. The committee will have a tenure of two years, and it will be responsible for providing recommendations on a wide range of issues related to GST law, rules, and procedures.

The partial modification of the membership of the GST Law Committee is a positive development that will ensure that the committee is better equipped to provide recommendations on GST-related issues. The wider representation of stakeholders and experts from various fields in the committee will ensure that the recommendations provided by the committee are more comprehensive and holistic.