<h1>GST Council Meeting: Exemptions for Government-Leased Plots, Uniform Lottery Tax, Higher GST on Bags Effective 2020.</h1> The GST Council, in its 38th meeting on December 18, 2019, decided to exempt the upfront payment for long-term leases of industrial or financial infrastructure plots for entities with at least 20% government ownership, effective January 1, 2020. A uniform GST rate of 28% was set for both state-run and state-authorized lotteries, effective March 1, 2020. Additionally, the GST rate for woven and non-woven bags, including Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers, was increased to 18% from 12%, effective January 1, 2020.