GST Council to get four new representatives at next meeting

New Delhi: Federal indirect tax body, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, will have four new representatives when it meets next, reflecting political changes in states after the recent assembly polls.

Three new representatives will be from Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, which saw regime change following the assembly elections in April, according to two persons familiar with the development. They will succeed Kerala’s K.N. Balagopal, West Bengal’s Chandrima Bhattacharya and Tamil Nadu’s Thangam Thennarasu.

The fourth new face will be from Bihar, which saw a leadership change last month after Samrat Chaudhary was declared the chief minister. A list of GST Council members available from the Council’s website shows deputy chief minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav as the new member representing the state.

Chaudhary had played a key role in the Council’s ministerial panels when he was the deputy chief minister of the state and GST Council member. After his elevation, Yadav handles the finance and commercial taxes portfolios, making him the state’s representative in the Council.

On Thursday, the state expanded its cabinet with Yadav retaining the finance and commercial tax portfolios, news agency ANI said on social media platform X.

GST Council last met on 3 September when it slashed tax rates to stimulate demand for goods and services. The four new members will, for the first time, be part of the Council when it meets next. The date for the next meeting has not been finalized yet.

Members from Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Bihar are part of different ministerial groups set up by the GST Council to look into specific issues, such as revenue mobilization in the event of natural calamities or disasters, GST revenue analysis, real estate, and system reforms, as per orders issued by the Council.

These ministerial committees will now be modified to include the new members, the two persons quoted above said on condition of anonymity.

Experts pointed out that induction of new state representatives is routine and should not disrupt this institutional balance.

“The Council's strength lies in its continuity, new members may bring fresh state perspectives, but the broader approach remains collaborative, ensuring that GST policy evolves steadily without being swayed by political shifts,” said Ikesh Nagpal, lead- indirect tax, AKM Global, a tax and consulting firm.

Queries mailed to the Union finance ministry, GST Council Secretariat and the Bihar government on Thursday remained unanswered at the time of publishing.

It remains to be seen if Puducherry and Assam send new nominees to the Council. All India N.R. Congress-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retained power in Puducherry, while BJP returned to power for the third consecutive term in Assam.

The GST Council operates as a model of cooperative federalism, where decisions are largely shaped through consensus rather than formal voting. "This reflects a collective recognition that GST, as a unified tax framework, depends on consistency and predictability to function effectively. As a result, representatives across political lines tend to converge on pragmatic tax policy priorities focusing on stability, uniformity, and ease of compliance over partisan considerations,” said Nagpal.

Voting has been a rare event in GST Council. The Centre holds one-third weighted votes in the Council, while the rest remain with states. The Council can take decisions with 75% of weighted votes.

The ministerial groups that examine specific tax matters help reach consensus on difficult issues. The decision-making process is widely seen as a collaborative exercise between the Centre and states, with economic rationale taking precedence over political differences.