4-May-2018: GST Council approves turning GSTN into a government entity

The GST Council has approved making GST Network (GSTN) a government entity by taking over stakes held by private entities, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at the end of the 27th meeting of the council.

The GST Network or GSTN currently is 24.5 per cent owned by the central government and a similar percentage is held by state governments collectively. The remaining 51 per cent is with five private financial institutions — HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, NSE Strategic Investment Co and LIC Housing Finance Ltd.

The council has agreed to a proposal of buying out the stake of private entities to make GSTN a government-owned entity. The central government will own 50% and the remaining would be collectively held by state governments.

In another important development, the council has referred the issue of giving 2 per cent incentive for digital payments of GST liability to a five-member committee. The incentive once in place, should encourage more people to transact digitally.