New Delhi: The GST Council will decide on the modalities for appropriating the revenue collected by levying compensation cess on luxury, sin and demerit goods beyond March 2026, the deadline to repay loans taken by Centre to compensate states for revenue loss during Covid, an official said.

Compensation cess was initially brought in for 5 years to make good the revenue shortfall of states following implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The compensation cess expired in June 2022, but the amount collected through the levy is being used to repay the interest and principal of the Rs 2.69 lakh crore that the Centre had borrowed during Covid.

The GST Council will now have to take a call on the issue of ‘GST compensation cess’ with regard to its name, and the modalities for its distribution among the states.

Press Trust of India