Kerala is all set to host the two-day meeting of the Empowered Committee of Finance Ministers at Kovalam from Thursday, the first meeting to be convened after Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani took over as the chairman of the panel.
The meeting has assumed an added significance now that the Lok Sabha has passed the GST Bill, virtually fixing the agenda for discussion at the meeting, especially there is a long way to go before a consensus can be achieved on issues between States, and between the States and the Centre.
The new GST regime is perhaps one of the most comprehensive tax reforms exercises to have been undertaken since Independence. Mr. Mani is upbeat about the meeting and its outcome for two reasons. The first is that as the host, he is likely to be in the limelight and as a representative of a regional party, his positions on various issues will be keenly watched. The second is that Mr. Mani has been holding the view that new the GST regime would give a boost to the economy on the course of recovery.
Mr. Mani, in a statement here, said that the main task before the empowered committee was to create conditions conducive for consensus ahead of April 1, 2016 from when the GST regime would come into effect. By now, consensus had been reached on many issues.
