The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council announced on Friday the reconstitution of the rate rationalisation panel. According to an official notification, Bihar’s deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary has been named the convenor of the group of ministers (GoM), tasked with GST rate rationalisation.

The panel members include Uttar Pradesh finance minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, Goa transport minister Mauvin Godinho, Rajasthan medical and health services minister Gajendra Singh, West Bengal finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, Karnataka revenue minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Kerala finance minister KN Balagopal.

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The primary aim of this reconstituted GoM will be to streamline GST rates, review exemptions, and boost GST revenues. The committee was originally set up in 2021 under former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai. Under his chairmanship, the committee submitted an interim report to the GST Council in 2022, recommending changes in GST rates for some goods and services.

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The newly formed panel will now examine whether the four GST rates – 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28% – can be rationalised into three. One proposal has been to merge the 12% and 18% rates into 15%, while another suggestion has been to merge the 5% and 12% rates into 8%.