The 48th GST Council met today under the Chairmanship of Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman via virtual mode in New Delhi.
The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Choudhary besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs (with legislature) and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance & States/ UTs.
The GST Council has inter-alia made many recommendations relating to changes in GST tax rates, measures for facilitation of trade and measures for streamlining compliances in GST.
Notably, the Council recommended not to levy Goods and Services Tax on incentives paid to Banks under the Scheme of Promotion of Rupay Debit Card.
RuPay is a product of NPCI, the umbrella organisation that powers retail payments in the country. The provision under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2C)07, empowered the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to create a secure electronic payment and settlement system in India.
The nature of NPCl’s initiatives and objectives includes it under the “Not for Profit Company” under the provisions of Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 and more recently under the Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013. This was an initiative to build the necessary banking infrastructure required to propel India towards a ‘less cash’ economy. NPCI recognises the need for tech-driven innovations in the retail payments system to drive operational efficiencies among a larger Indian audience.
Presently, RuPay cards are issued by more than 1,100 banks which includes Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, Regional Rural and Co-Operative Banks.
Its ten core promoter banks are State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank N. A. and SBC.
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