The GST Council is a constitutional body established under Article 279A of the Constitution of India, inserted by the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016. It serves as a joint forum for the Centre and the States, embodying the principle of cooperative federalism in India's indirect tax structure.
The Council's creation was necessitated by the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which replaced multiple central and state indirect taxes to unify the national market. The 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016 received the President's assent on September 8, 2016, and the Council was constituted with effect from September 12, 2016, to provide a common platform for decision-making on the dual GST system.
As per Article 279A(4), the Council's primary function is to make recommendations to the Union and the States on all critical GST matters, including tax rates, exemptions, threshold limits, and model GST Laws. The Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and includes the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation from each State. Decisions are taken by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of members present and voting. The Central Government's vote carries a weightage of one-third, and the votes of all State Governments together carry a weightage of two-thirds.
The Council connects directly to the various GST Acts (CGST, SGST, IGST, and GST (Compensation to States) Acts). Recently, the Council approved significant reforms, often termed GST 2.0, in its 56th meeting on September 3, 2025, which came into effect on September 22, 2025. These changes rationalized the rate structure by removing the 12% and 28% slabs, simplifying the system primarily into 5% and 18% core slabs, while introducing a 40% slab for specified demerit and luxury goods.