GST Council Fails To Arrive At Consensus On Dual Control, Compensation
States and Centre stick to their individual stances.
The Centre and the states failed to arrive at a consensus on the issue of dual control by the end of the eighth GST Council meeting on Wednesday, said Kerala Finance Minister, Thomas Isaac. States maintained their demand for exclusive control over assessees with a turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore, but the Centre refused to concede.
The issue of higher compensation for states, in light of the government’s decision to demonetise high-value currencies was discussed yet again but there was no consensus on structure which could fund the additional amount required now, Issac told reporters at the end of the Council meeting.
The Centre should make provisions for increased compensation in the Union Budget, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia added.
West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said crucial issues like the tax rate on commodities also needs to be finalised before the IGST Bill can be approved by the Council.
The next meeting of the Council has been scheduled on January 16.
The government is already racing against time, as it tries to meet the April 1, 2017 deadline. Dual control and compensation for states are a critical part of the draft bills . Besides, the Central and State GST Bills are also yet to be approved by the Parliament and the individual state assemblies before the new indirect tax regime can be implemented.
(With inputs from PTI)