GST Council To Meet On Oct .7; May Review Amendments In SGST Law On Online Gaming

The GST Council will meet on Oct. 7 and is likely to review the progress made by the states in incorporating changes with regard to taxation of online gaming in SGST laws as approved by the council in its August meeting.

The GST Council, chaired by the Union Finance Minister and comprising state counterparts, had last month cleared amendments to Central GST and Integrated GST laws to give clarity on the levy of 28% tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs.

The amendments also make registration mandatory for offshore e-gaming companies operating in India. It also provides for blocking of access in case offshore platforms fail to comply with GST registration and tax payment norms.

Similar changes were required to be undertaken by the states in their respective SGST laws.

The council had set Oct. 1 as the deadline for implementing the amended provisions after all state assemblies pass the required changes to their SGST laws.

"The 52nd meeting of the GST Council will be held on 7th October, 2023, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi," the GST Council said in a post on X.

An official said the meeting will mainly review the progress with regard to amendments in the SGST law by different states.

Since the council's clarification after its meeting on July 11, that online gaming companies are subject to 28% GST on the full face value of a bet, the GST authorities have started sending notices to the online gaming companies and casino operators, including big players like Delta Corp. and Dream11.

While the companies are challenging the decision of the GST authorities to levy 28 per cent tax on full face value with retrospective effect, tax officials maintain that GST at 28% was leviable on such supplies from the very beginning and the GST Council's decision in July was only clarificatory in nature.