GST Council gets Cabinet approval
NEWDELHI:Racing against time to meet the April 1, 2017, the deadline to implement the goods and services tax (GST), the Cabinet on Monday approved the creation of the GST Council.
The council, headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley, is the main decision-making body, which will finalise the design of the GST, the rates, and help the Centre and states resolve sticky issues by November 22.
“We are geared up to put in place the administrative and IT set-up,” revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia said. On whether the government is sticking to the April 1 deadline, he said: “So far, yes .... We will see how we proceed.”
The GST Council will consist of the union finance minister (who will be the chairperson), minister of state in charge of the revenue department, and state finance ministers. The council will hold its first meeting on September 22 and 23, an official statement said.
“The Cabinet also decided to provide adequate funds to meet the expenses of the GST Council Secretariat. The entire cost will be borne by the Centre,” the statement added.
“Now it is for the GST Council to thrash out all the issues within two months. We have set a limit of two months, from September 22 to November 22, to discuss and decide all major aspects. We’ll have to see if that is feasible,” Adhia said. The council would be able to decide the GST rate, exemptions and threshold for inclusion in the CGST law before November 22, he added.
The government is planning to introduce the GST legislations — Central GST and Integrated GST — in the winter session of Parliament in November.
Besides, the revenue secretary will be the ex-officio secretary to the GST Council, which will have the chairperson of the Central Board of Excise and Customs as a permanent invitee (non-voting). The finance ministers of 29 states and two union territories will be part of the council with voting rights. Also, a post of additional secretary to the GST Council and four posts of commissioner (at the level of joint secretary to the Centre) have been created in the GST Council Secretariat.
The council will make recommendations to the union and the states on important issues related to GST, such as the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST laws, principles that govern the place of supply, threshold limits and GST rates.
While the Centre will have one-third of the votes in the GST Council, states together will have two-thirds of the votes. They will need a majority of three-fourths to adopt a resolution.
The central and the integrated GSTs will be drafted on the basis of the model GST law.