FM Sitharaman to hold brainstorming conclave with GST, customs and income tax officials
NEW DELHI : Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to hold high-level meeting with senior officials and field formations to review the country’s tax administration and chart out priorities for the upcoming fiscal quarters.
Sources tell that the idea of the meeting is to take a feedback, align the fields with the thinking of North block and focusing on bringing in ease of doing business and grievance redressal.
The closed-door brainstorming sessions will begin with meetings between the Finance Minister and top Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) officials, including field formations on June 19 and 20, followed by a session with Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) officials and income tax field formations on June 23. The main idea is to understand challenges and ensure ease of doing business, according to sources.
The conclave will bring together senior tax heads from across the country and is aimed at assessing policy execution, revenue performance, and operational challenges in both direct and indirect tax regimes, CNBC-TV18 learnt.
“The deliberations will begin with discussions around Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Customs, including a status update on investigations by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), concerns around pending Input Tax Credit (ITC), and overall trade facilitation,” sources said.
Agenda for GST & Customs
Among the key topics under the GST and Customs umbrella are:
- Status of DGGI probes and stuck ITC claims, which have been a persistent grievance from industry.
- Review of current revenue trends and tax buoyancy, especially after the record GST collections seen in recent months, sources said.
- Way forward on rate rationalisation, a long-pending agenda point under discussion by the GST Council, sources added.
- Issues around GST registration, e-commerce compliance, compensation cess, and trade logistics, including cargo and cruise terminal efficiency.
The Customs division will also present updates on air cargo and passenger handling systems, international trade facilitation, and digitisation efforts, sources said.
Focus Areas for Income Tax
On the direct tax side, the Income Tax department will present progress on taxpayer services, dispute resolution, and revenue augmentation through non-intrusive and data-driven approaches. Key talking points include:
Expediting tax refunds and easing the ITR filing process, especially as the filing period is on-going.
Further, also under discussion will be measures for strengthening dispute resolution and faceless assessment models, sources said.
Revenue performance and future roadmap, particularly in light of increasing digital penetration and third-party data use, will also feature in the conclave, sources said.
International taxation, safe harbour rules, and transfer pricing issues, with an eye on improving India’s global tax competitiveness, sources added.
Recent Revenue Trends
The brainstorming comes at a time when tax collections have shown robust growth.
GST collections in May 2025 stood at ₹2.01 lakh crore, giving confidence to the government. “Growth in GST collections, driven by strong domestic transactions and improved compliance, has been the idea and further discussions on action plan for coming months will help the department have a clear road map,” sources added.
Income Tax collections also witnessed strong momentum, with the Centre surpassing its direct tax collection target for FY24, collecting over ₹19.58 lakh crore—up nearly 18% compared to the previous year.
The discussion will also help both the departments chart a future action plan on revenue augmentation, under the guidance of Finance minister, sources added.
Strategic Importance
The conclave is being viewed as a key mid-year intervention to ensure that both tax systems stay aligned with evolving business models and public expectations. It is also expected to feed into the GST Council’s upcoming meetings and inform the pre-budget groundwork for the Union Budget 2026.
By focusing on facilitation, policy fine-tuning, and capacity building, the finance ministry aims to maintain high revenue growth while reducing litigation and improving taxpayer trust.
