Government mulls making GSTN 100% state-run entity; GST Council to take final call

After GST Councils clearance, the proposal would go to the Union Cabinet since GSTN will become a public company.

The government is looking at the possibility of converting GST Network, the company that handles IT infrastructure for the Goods and Services Tax regime, into a state-owned company with a majority or 100 per cent stake, an official source said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asked Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia to "examine the possibility" of converting GSTN into a majority government company or a 100 per cent government company. Currently, five private financial institutions -- HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NSE Strategic Investment Co and LIC Housing Finance Ltd -- hold 51 per cent stake in GSTN, which was incorporated on March 28, 2013, in the erstwhile UPA regime.