GoM to propose GST exemption on health and life insurance premiums: Bihar Dy CM
Aug 20, 2025
Synopsis
The GST Group of Ministers is considering exempting health and life insurance premiums from the GST levy, a move that aligns with the Centre's push for simplifying the tax regime and providing relief to various segments of society.
The Group of Ministers (GoM) on Goods and Services Tax (GST) will propose exempting health and life insurance premiums from the levy, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary told reporters on Wednesday.
Some states, however, expressed differing views on the plan, with Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka cautioning that such an exemption could lead to a revenue loss of about ₹9,700 crore.
The proposal comes amid the Centre’s push for “next-generation” GST reforms, which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said are aimed at simplifying the tax regime, reducing compliance burden and providing relief to the common man, farmers, the middle class and MSMEs.
Addressing GoMs at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Sitharaman said the reforms rest on three pillars: structural changes, rate rationalisation and ease of living.
Currently, GST is levied at four rates, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%, with essentials taxed at the lowest end and luxury or sin goods in the highest slab plus cess. The Centre has proposed a two-rate system of 5% and 18%, along with a special 40% slab for select demerit goods.
Over two days, the three GoMs on insurance, compensation cess and rate rationalisation are examining issues ranging from exemptions on insurance premiums to the future of compensation cess and removing duty inversion in sectors hit by uneven rates.
An SBI Research report estimated that the latest rate-cut proposals could lower the effective weighted GST rate to 9.5% and lead to an annual revenue loss of about ₹85,000 crore, with an immediate shortfall of ₹45,000 crore if introduced from October 1.
The GoMs’ recommendations will be placed before the GST Council at its meeting next month, ahead of a planned rollout of reforms by Diwali, as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
[The Economic Times]
