Press trust of india
New Delhi, Sept 12: Moving on the fast track to roll out Goods and Services Tax (GST) April 1, 2017, the Union cabinet Monday approved setting up of the all-powerful GST Council, which will decide on the tax rate, the exempted goods and the threshold by November 22.
The first meeting of the Council, to be chaired by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, will be held September 22 and 23. The council will comprise the minister of state for finance in charge of the revenue department and state finance ministers as members. Union Revenue Secretary will be the ex-officio secretary to the Council, but will have no voting rights.
“The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Monday “approved setting up of the GST Council and setting up its secretariat,” an official statement said. Talking to reporters, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the government is running ahead of schedule on GST roll out and is all geared up to meet the April 1, 2017, deadline.
“Now it is for the GST Council to thrash out all the issues within the time limit of two months. We have set a time limit of two months for discussion and final decision on all the major aspects. Now whether that’s going to be feasible, that we have to watch and see,” he added.
“So from September 22 to November 22 should be a reasonable time limit for discussing and thrashing out the major issues,” added Adhia. Asked if the GST rate, exemptions and threshold would be decided by the Council before November 22 for inclusion in the CGST law, Adhia said: “It should be. Yes”.
The government plans to introduce GST legislations – Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) – in the winter session of parliament in November. Adhia said states may nominate either finance or taxation or any other minister to the GST Council and he has already written to state chief secretaries in this regard.