GST Council gives nod to convert GST Network into a govt-owned company

The Centre will own 50% of the GSTN, while the remaining 50% will be collectively held by states

The Goods and Services Tax Council on Friday gave its nod to convert GST Network, the information technology backbone of the new indirect tax system, into a government-owned company after concerns were raised about the security of taxpayers’ data on the portal. The Council allowed the Centre and states to acquire the entire 51 per cent equity, worth Rs 50.1 million, held by non-governmental institutions in the GSTN. The finance ministry said a majority of the GST processes, including registration, filing of returns, payment of taxes, processing of refunds, were IT-driven, and the GSTN was handling large-scale invoice data of