A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised more relief in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by November 10, the day GST Council meets in Guwahati, Congress sources said their State Finance Ministers will make three key demands at the meeting.
The Congress will press to simplify the process of filing GST returns, with no penalty for initial delays, seek more relief for businesses whose annual turnover does not exceed ₹1.5 crore and lower the tax rates on items of mass consumption.
Inflationary trend
“There are several items of mass consumption that are still taxed at 28 per cent. We will insist that it be lowered so that the GST does not become inflationary,” a Congress leader said.
In the election season, the GST has become a politically sensitive issue, especially in the Prime Minister’s home State of Gujarat. The Congress alleges that a “flawed GST has resulted in inflation for the common man and made life difficult for small and medium enterprises.”
Though the Model Code of Conduct of the Election Commission prevent the Centre and the States where elections are being held from announcing any policy decision that influences voters, most argue that the GST Council announcements are never State-specific and hence will not violate the code.
Monthly review
Since the roll-out of the GST on July 1, the council — the statutory body that is tasked with implementing the new tax regime — has been meeting every month to consider changes to existing rules and rates based on feedback.
Government sources told The Hindu that the council was likely to bring down the rates of several items of mass consumption.
Clearly, there is now a competition between the Centre and the Congress-ruled States to take credit for lowering the rates and easing the situation for traders.
CM’ s demand
Speaking to The Hindu , Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayansamy, who is a member of the GST Council, said: “Today, the small and medium enterprises are severely affected leading to the closure of industries and thousands of people have been rendered unemployed. Therefore, I am going to stress the point that for SMEs, the tax liability should be the minimum. And the tax on common man’s product should be minimal.”
Mr. Narayansamy reiterated that his party’s stand right from the beginning had been to cap the GST at 18 per cent to prevent the tax regime from becoming inflationary.
