Reducing GST in automobile, hotel & education sector will propel demand: Expert

New Delhi, Jun 11 (KNN) The Goods and Services (GST) council is set to meet tomorrow for the first time after the nationwide lockdown and is expected to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tax revenues.

Despite the government announcing several relief measures for different sectors, the coronavirus outbreak which has claimed several lives, has also postponed demand.

To get more insight of the same and what can be done to propel demand, KNN India spoke to Yogendra Kapoor, an Economist as well as Tax Expert, on Thursday, who asserted that creation of demand for Goods and Services and complex processes in availability of credit to SME/MSME are the two major issues that economy is facing currently.

''Government can assist in creation of demand by immediately reducing GST sectors like automobile, hotel accommodation/rentals and education in its GST Council meeting as it will result in more money in the hands of businesses and general society which will propel demand,'' he said.

He also suggested that banks can be instructed to make credit available to all viable businesses in a time bound manner so that ease of doing business hits the ground.

The 40th meeting of the GST Council will be headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman via video conferencing.

The meeting will see discussion on the impact of the pandemic on revenues of the Centre and states and ways to bridge the revenue gap. In addition to this, the Council will also discuss ways to garner funds to compensate states for the revenue loss due to Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation.

Waiver of late fees for non-filing of GST returns for the period August 2017 to January 2020 can also be discussed in the meeting.