The 54th GST Council met under the Chairpersonship of Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi today.
The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Chief Ministers of Goa and Meghalaya; Deputy Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana; besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs (with legislature) and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance & States/ UTs.
GST Council recommended to constitute a Group of Ministers (GoM) to holistically look into the issues pertaining to GST on life insurance and health insurance. The GoM members are Bihar, UP, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Goa, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Gujarat.
The GoM is to submit the report by the end of October 2024.
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The Minister Of Road Transport And Highways Nitin Gadkari in a letter written to the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on 28.0.2024 has questioned the imposition of 18% GST on life insurance and medical insurance premiums.
Nitin Gadkari has written a letter in furtherance of the memorandum submitted by the Nagpur Divisional Life Insurance Corporation Employees Union, Nagpur about the issues pertaining to the Insurance Industry and sought to take up them.
The Union stated that both the life insurance and medical insurance premiums attract a GST rate of 18%.
The levying GST on life insurance premium amounts to levying tax on the uncertainties of life.
The Union feels that the person who covers the risk of life’s uncertainties to give some protection to the family should not be levied tax on the premium to purchase cover against this risk. Similarly, the 18% GST on medical insurance premium is proving to be a deterrent for the growth of this segment of business which is socially necessary. Therefore, the union urged withdrawal of GST.
