• The government has set up a seven-member panel of state ministers for better valuation of services of casinos, online gaming portal and race courses companies, to levy goods and services tax (GST).
• The group of ministers (GoM) will be headed by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel.
• Other member of the panel are: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P Thiagarajan.

Tasks of the GoM

• To understand, examine and resolve the issue of the valuation of services provided by casinos, race courses, and online gaming companies.
• To understand taxability of certain transactions in a casino, with reference to the current legal provisions and orders of courts.
• To examine whether any change is required in the legal provision for better means of valuation of these services.
• To examine the administration of such valuation provisions and if an alternative means of valuation is recommended.