THE Government has extended the time for levy of GST compensation cess by nearly 4 years till March 31, 2026. As per the Goods and Services Tax (Period of Levy and Collection of Cess) Rules, 2022, notified by the Finance Ministry, the compensation cess will continue to be levied from July 1, 2022 to March 31, 2026. The levy of cess was to end on June 30 but the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising State FMs, decided to extend it till March 2026 to repay the loans taken in the last two fiscal years to make up for the shortfall in their revenue collection.