GST Council has taken 918 decisions, says FinMin

Since constitution of the GST Council, which has taken 918 decisions, has already implemented over 96 per cent of its decision via 294 notifications, the finance ministry said on Sunday.

“Till date, the Goods and Services Tax ( GST) Council has taken 918 decisions related to GST laws, rules, rates, compensation and taxation threshold among others. More than 96 per cent of the decisions have already been implemented through 294 notifications issued by the Central government and the remaining are under various stages of implementation,” the finance ministry. said.

Almost equal number of corresponding SGST notifications have been issued by each state, it said.

“The GST Council members under the chairpersonship of the Union finance minister have spent long hours discussing the broad contours as well as the nitty gritty of the new GST regime in a harmonious and collaborative spirit. Till now, 30 meetings have taken place,” the ministry said.

It said that detailed agenda notes were prepared before every GST Council meeting and discussed in the preparatory Officer’s Meeting to enable the Council Members to fully appreciate the issues under consideration. “The detailed agenda notes for the 30 GST Council meetings ran into 4,730 pages. The discussions in the GST Council were very detailed, reflecting the collective wisdom of the Council and this has been captured exhaustively in the minutes of the 30 council meetings running into 1,394 pages,” it said.

The GST Council was constituted on September 15, 2016 under Article 279A of the Constitution.

“The working of GST Council has ushered in a new phase of co- operative federalism where the central and the state governments work together to take collective decisions on all issues relating to indirect tax regime of the country,” added finance ministry.

The working of GST Council has ushered in a new phase of co- operative federalism where the central and the state governments work together to take collective decisions on all issues relating to indirect tax regime of the country. — FINANCE MINISTRY