The 54th GST Council meeting was held on 9th September, 2024 in New Delhi under the Chairpersonship of the Union Finance Minister.
Key Recommendations & Decisions:
- Relief on Cancer Drugs: GST rate on crucial cancer drugs including Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib, and Durvalumab reduced from 12% to 5% to make advanced cancer treatment affordable.
- Tax Reduction on Namkeens & Savouries: GST on extruded or expanded savoury food products (namkeens, bhujia, chabena) reduced from 18% to 12% prospectively.
- B2C E-Invoicing Pilot: Approved voluntary pilot implementation of e-invoicing in Business-to-Consumer (B2C) transactions for select sectors.
- Invoice Management System (IMS): Introduction of IMS enabling taxpayers to accept, reject, or keep pending invoices in GSTR-2B to minimize ITC mismatches.
- Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM): Imposition of RCM on supply of metal scrap by unregistered persons to registered persons to plug revenue leakage.