New Delhi: Lok Sabha on 1 December passed the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025 by voice vote. The House witnessed repeated adjournments in the morning and post-lunch sessions due to protests.
The Bill has been introduced to replace an Ordinance issued on 7 October to implement GST 2.0 reforms in Manipur, which is currently under President’s rule. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the legislation provides statutory backing to the decisions taken by the GST Council at its 56th meeting.
She informed the House that the Council had approved rationalisation of GST rates on around 375 items by merging the 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent slabs into just two, 5 per cent and 18 per cent, along with a new 40 per cent rate for ultra-luxury goods.
These revised rates have been effective since 22 September. To ensure consistency with the amended Central GST law, corresponding changes were required in the Manipur GST Act, 2017, Sitharaman noted.
Separately, Sitharaman introduced two new bills to repurpose levies on sin goods such as tobacco and pan masala, ahead of the planned phase-out of the GST compensation cess. These include the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill and the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025.
