Shillong, August 13: The Meghalaya Cabinet on Thursday approved a series of major decisions, including a draft resolution opposing uranium mining in the State, the Meghalaya Official Languages Bill, 2026, a dedicated Meghalaya paper for the Meghalaya Civil Service (MCS) Competitive Examination and several amendments relating to public services, industries, taxation and excise.
The Cabinet approved the draft “Resolution against the mining of uranium in the State of Meghalaya”, which will be moved during the upcoming Autumn Session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly beginning on August 24, 2026.
It also approved the report of the expert committee headed by Professor David Syiemlieh recommending the introduction of a dedicated paper on Meghalaya in the MCS Competitive Examination.
Under the proposal, Paper VI will focus specifically on Meghalaya, including its history, culture, traditional systems, society, economy and other aspects of the State. The objective is to ensure that future MCS officers have a deeper understanding of Meghalaya and its unique social, cultural and economic context.
The Cabinet further approved the Meghalaya Official Languages Bill, 2026. The Bill, which had earlier been introduced in the form of an Ordinance, will now be formally taken up during the upcoming Assembly Session.
The legislation provides for Khasi and Garo to be recognised as official languages of the State alongside English and will pave the way for the enactment of the amended Meghalaya Official Language Act.
Another key decision was the approval of an amendment to the Meghalaya Right to Public Services Act, 2020, to introduce an Automatic Appeal Mechanism for online applications under the Ease of Doing Business (Compliance Reduction and Deregulation) Initiative.
Under the new mechanism, if a notified online service is not delivered within the prescribed timeframe, an appeal will be triggered automatically without requiring the citizen to separately file an appeal.
The move is aimed at strengthening the Right to Public Services framework, improving accountability and ensuring that citizens receive notified government services within the stipulated period.
The Cabinet also approved a one-year extension of the registration period under the Meghalaya Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (MIIPP), 2024.
The extension will provide prospective investors and companies additional time to register under the policy and avail themselves of the incentives and benefits offered by the State Government. The decision is expected to further support investment, industrial growth and employment generation in Meghalaya.
The Meghalaya Commerce & Industries Service (Amendment) Rules, 2026 were also approved. The amendment incorporates the revised upper age limit for recruitment, increasing it from 27 years to 32 years for Scheduled Tribe candidates of Meghalaya, in accordance with an earlier Cabinet decision.
The Cabinet further approved a proposal to subsume Value Added Tax (VAT) on alcoholic liquor for human consumption under the Excise Duty regime, including amendments to Section 44, as amended in 2012 and 2026, and Schedule V of the Meghalaya Value Added Tax Act.
It also approved the re-classification of categories of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brands, revision of ad valorem rates, amendment of Rule 376 of the Meghalaya Excise (Amendment) Rules, 2026, and amendment of Rule 41 of the Meghalaya Bonded Warehouse Rules (Amendment) Rules, 2026.
The objective of the proposals is to bring taxation and excise components relating to alcoholic liquor under a unified Excise Department framework. The government said this would enable better monitoring, stronger coordination and more efficient administration while improving revenue collection for the State.
The Cabinet also approved a proposal to amend the Meghalaya Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, through a Bill.
The amendment incorporates recent changes made to the GST framework at the national level that require corresponding amendments to State GST Acts.
The government described the move as a routine procedural exercise to align Meghalaya’s GST legislation with the latest decisions and provisions adopted at the national level. The amendment Bill will be introduced during the upcoming Assembly Session.
