53rd GST Council meeting: Train platform tickets to be cheaper, students in hostels will also get relief

New Delhi: The 53rd GST Council meeting was held in the presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. Sitharaman announced in the meeting that biometric authentication will be implemented nationwide in stages to prevent fake invoices. For GST registration, the council recommended making Aadhaar biometric authentication mandatory for all new registrations across the country.

The main announcements made by the Finance Minister after the GST Council meeting are as follows: “The process of biometric-based Aadhaar authentication will be launched on an all-India basis. This will help in fighting fraud through fake invoices,” he said.At today’s meeting, the council recommended a flat rate of 12 per cent on all milk cans. All carton boxes and cases are asked to be subject to a uniform GST rate of 12 per cent. This will particularly benefit apple growers in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.Services provided by Indian Railways to the general public, sale of platform tickets, rest room and waiting room facilities, battery powered car services are exempt from GST. Those students who were previously staying in dormitories or hostels outside their institutions were not exempt from GST. GST will now be exempt from hostels or student hostels along with or outside educational institutions.