Jaitley defers 33rd GST Council meet till Feb 24

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday adjourned the 33rd GST Council meeting midway to continue on Sunday considering the major disagreement on issues related to tax rates in real estate and lottery. "Discussions in today's meeting remained incomplete on video conferencing. Two ministers expressed their opinion and the rest will express their opinion... and we will try and take a decision on the issues in the meeting on Sunday," Jaitley said.

The Minister said it has been the practice so far on all decisions that the GST Council has moved forward with consensus and not enforced a majority on issues related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates and he would like to continue that here as well. The Finance Ministers of some states had expressed reservations about holding a discussion on crucial issues like tax rates in residential properties and lotteries through video conferencing, demanding a deferment of the GST Council meeting.