Srinagar, May 18 (IANS): The crucial 14th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting to finalise tax slabs on services and commodities in the country started here on Thursday.

Chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, this is the first time that such an important national policy-making meet is being held in Jammu and Kashmir.

Finance Ministers, Finance Secretaries and taxation officials of various states and union territories are participating in the two-day meeting being held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.

"Finance Ministers of Tripura, Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland may not attend the GST council meet today because of preoccupations in their states," official sources said here.

Nearly 200 journalists, both foreign and Indian, were present in the meeting.

The meeting which started at 10.30 a.m. will continue till 6.30 p.m.

Jaitley will address a media conference on Friday about the council's decisions.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has said it would take a final call on participation in the GST regime after bringing legislation to protect the interests of the state and bring the national GST policy in consonance with the state's constitution.

Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in the country that has a constitution of its own which is applicable here concomitantly with the Indian constitution.