Heated deliberations by the goods and services tax (GST) council started on Thursday against the backdrop of the Dal Lake in Srinagar, amid a brief and unusual calm in the Kashmir Valley. The two-day meeting is expected to finalise the GST rules and discuss fitment of rates, with less than 50 days to go for the regime's rollout. This meeting will, in fact, decide whether GST will be rolled out on July 1.
Before the meeting, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac said that he would pitch for a five per cent GST rate for gold. "Gold is a luxury item