The 45th goods and services tax (GST) Council meeting will be held today, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lucknow, which is likely to discuss bringing petrol and diesel under the ambit of indirect tax and also decide on GST rate reduction on COVID-19 essential medicines. This is the first on-ground GST Council meeting to be conducted in almost 20 months, as the last such meeting was held in 2019, before COVID-related restrictions were enforced in the country.
