GST Council to meet on May 28; compensation shortfall, rates on Covid-19 essentials on agenda
The meeting among other things is also likely to discuss the compensation mechanism for states GST revenue shortfall for the ongoing fiscal which began on April 1.
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 43rd GST Council meeting via video conferencing on May 28, 2021. (File Photo) By PTI
NEW DELHI: The GST Council will meet on May 28 and is likely to discuss tax rates on COVID-related drugs, oxygen equipment and vaccines.
The meeting among other things is also likely to discuss the compensation mechanism for states GST revenue shortfall for the ongoing fiscal which began on April 1.
GST Council to meet on May 28; compensation shortfall, rates on COVID essentials on agenda
NEW DELHI, May 15: The GST Council will meet on May 28 and is likely to discuss tax rates on COVID-related drugs, oxygen equipment and vaccines.
The meeting among other things is also likely to discuss the compensation mechanism for states’ GST revenue shortfall for the ongoing fiscal which began on April 1.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 43rd GST Council meeting via video conferencing on May 28, 2021.
“The meeting will be attended by MOS Shri @ianuragthakur besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs and Senior officers from Union Government & States,” Office of Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted.
He is the second State Minister in last 10 days to raise issue
There is an urgent need to call a meeting of the GST Council, especially with the brutal second wave that is likely to severely hit the economy, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said in a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. The council has not met since the virtual meeting it held in October last year.
Mr. Mitra is the second State Finance Minister to raise the issue in the 10 ten days. In a letter to Ms. Sitharaman, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal made a similar demand on May 5.
May 05, 2021
Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Bada×
Badal urges Union Finance Minister to convene meeting as critical issues hang fire
Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has asked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to convene a meeting of the GST Council to discuss key issues including essential medicines and equipment for Covid-19 treatment being stuck in ports and airports.
Talking to the reporters, he said the Governments have to more nimble. “Aid is needed and it is urgent,” he said.
Badal said in a letter to the Finance Minister that the GST Council had not met in the last six months even though Council’s own rules provide for holding at least one meeting every quarter. “However, failure to hold any constructive consultation with States for so long in such critical times makes me wonder whether Centre has usurped all the power of States putting the spirit of cooperative federalism- that formed the very foundation of achieving consensus on
States have deciding rights in the council, he says
The GST council had not met in the last six months in violation of its own rules that a meeting should be held once every quarter, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said in a letter to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He said the Centre seemed to have usurped all the powers of the States.
The meeting assumed importance with COVID-19 significantly impacting the economy and key decisions on waiver of GST on implements such as sanitizers and masks needed to be taken urgently, he said.
The States have the deciding rights in the GST council. But with no meeting in the last six months, Mr. Badal said, many provisions have been enacted in recent times through the route of subordinate legislation (Rules). Mr. Badal also pointed out that the delegation of the authority to the Committee of Officers or GST Implementation Committee was meant for mundane matters and not to bring substantive changes.