GST Council: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to chair 46th meeting today; check key demands of states

Image courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 46th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi on Friday (December 31), the last day of the year. Union Ministers of State in the Ministry of Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary and Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad will also be attending the council meeting. 

On Thursday, Ministry of Finance tweeted, "FM Smt @nsitharaman will chair the 46th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi, tomorrow. The meeting will be attended by MoS for Finance @mppchaudharyand @DrBhagwatKarad, besides Finance Ministers of States and UTs and Senior officers from Union Government and States."

FM Smt. @nsitharaman will chair the 46th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi, tomorrow. The meeting will be attended by MoS for Finance Shri @mppchaudhary & Shri @DrBhagwatKarad, besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs and Senior officers from Union Government & States. pic.twitter.com/S1rDGN0TIf — Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) December 30, 2021

The 46th GST Council meeting holds importance ahead of the Union Budget, which is presented on the first day of February by the Finance Minister in Parliament. 

Several state governments, including Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Delhi and West Bengal, on Thursday, pressed for the continuation of the GST compensation for another five-year period in view of the financial stress created by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Many states also demanded raising the share of the Union government in the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS). The Centre and state government currently share in some CSS is 60:40 while in others it is 75:25.

Notably, the GST compensation to states for revenue shortfall resulting from subsuming of local taxes such as VAT in the uniform national tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST) will end in June next year.

The demand for extension of the GST cess regime among others was made by several state finance ministers at a pre-budget consultation called by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here.

On Thursday, Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the pre-budget consultations with the Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories (with Legislature) for Union Budget 2022-23 in Delhi. This will be the fourth budget of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government in its second tenure.

The pre-budget meeting was attended by Union Ministers of State for Finance, Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, Finance Ministers, Ministers and Senior Officers from the States and Union Territories (with Legislature) and the Union Government, the Ministry of Finance said in an official press release. 

The Union Finance Secretary welcomed all the participants to the deliberation and informed the importance of this particular consultation meeting. 

Most of the participants thanked the Union Finance Minister for financially supporting their States/Union Territories during the worst months of pandemic, by enhancing borrowing limits, providing back to back loans to States, and through Special assistance for capital expenditure.

Notably, the participants gave numerous suggestions to the Finance Minister for inclusion in the Budget Speech. The Finance Minister thanked the participants for their inputs and suggestions towards Union Budget 2022-23 and assured to examine each of the proposals.

(With Agency Inputs)