The GST Council issued Office Memorandum vide 547/GoM for Revenue Mobilisation in case of Natural calamities or Disasters /GSTC/2024 dated March 03, 2025, has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to suggest recommendations for revenue mobilisation in case of natural calamities or disasters.
The GoM on revenue mobilisation in case of natural calamities or disaster will have Finance Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Suresh Khanna as convenor. Besides him, members include Ajanta Neog (Finance Minister of Assam), Om Prakash Choudhary (Finance Minister of Chhattisgarh), Kanubhai Desai (Finance Minister of Gujarat). K N Balagopal (Finance Minister of Kerala), Premchandra Aggarwal (Finance Minister of Uttarakhand) and Chandrima Bhattacharya (Finance Minister of West Bengal).
In pursuance of the decision taken in the 5th GST Council meeting held on 21.12.2024, a Group of Ministers (GoM) is constituted to examine the legal and structural issue and recommend uniform policies on imposition of levy of cess in case of natural disasters / calamities in the State. The GoM shall consist of the following members:-
| S. No. | NAME | DESIGNATION AND STATE | POSITION |
| 1 | Shri Suresh Kumar Khanna | Hon’ble Minister of Finance and Parliamentary Affairs, Uttar Pradesh | Convenor |
| 2 | Smt. Ajanta Neog | Hon’ble Minister for Finance, Women and Child Development, Assam | Member |
| 3 | Shri Om Prakash Choudhary | Hon’ble Minister of Finance, Chhattisgarh | Member |
| 4 | Shri Kanubhai Desai | Hon’ble Minister of Finance & Energy, Gujarat | Member |
| 5 | Shri KN Balagopal | Hon’ble Minister of Finance, Kerala | Member |
| 6 | Shri Premchand Aggarwal | Hon’ble Finance Minister, Uttarakhand | Member |
| 7 | Smt. Chandrima Bhattacharya | Hon’ble Minister of Finance, West Bengal | Member |
The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the GoM are as follows:-
- Examine the Constitutional and legal feasibility for levy of a special cess by States for revenue mobilization in case of natural calamity or disasters;
- Examine and identify the framework to be used to classify an event as a natural calamity or disaster for the purpose of levy of such special Cess by States under the GST regime;
- Examine whether the special cess should be restricted to some specific sectors or should be levied across sectors.
- Examine whether the levy of such special cess should be on B2B supplies only or B2C supplies only or both; and whether the said special cess should be applicable on supplies under Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM), keeping in mind that taxes are not reported in inter-state supplies.
- Examine the rate structure and time duration for which the said special cess should be levied.
- Examine whether levy of cess on SGST for special purpose will be in consonance with the objective of GST Act particularly “One Nation One Tax.”
- Examine whether any alternate mechanism can be devised for helping States in case of a natural disaster without altering the basic structure of GST.
Department of Revenue shall provide the necessary secretarial assistance to the GoM.
The Office Memorandum can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GSTC_OM_on_revenue_mobilisation.pdf
