The Union Cabinet on Monday approved the setting up of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council and its Secretariat. The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on the GST could cease to be the forum at which the discussions between the Centre and States would take place, the Centre said, after announcing the creation of the Council.
The Empowered Committee is headed by Amit Mitra, Finance Minister of West Bengal, a State that is yet to ratify the constitutional amendment enabling the roll-out of the GST.
The Amendment was notified on Thursday.
“There is no need for a separate forum of the Empowered Committee now as all discussions and decisions should ideally take place in the Council,” Union Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told a press conference after the meeting.
He said it was a matter of satisfaction for the government that it is running ahead of the schedule for the roll out of the GST. “We are geared up for an April 1, 2017 roll-out,” Mr Adhia said.
The Centre swung into action on receiving the approval from States, with Dr. Adhia writing to the Chief Secretaries of the States seeking nominations to the Council. Each State is to nominate as a voting member to it a minister, who may or may not be holding the finance or taxation portfolios. The Centre will have two representatives on the Council: the Union Finance Minister will chair it and the Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue will be a member.
First GST Council meet on Sept.22
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who built the political consensus for the Constitution Amendment Bill and piloted it in Parliament, has scheduled the Council’s first meeting for September 22 and 23. The Finance Ministry hopes the GST rates, including the floor rates with bands, special rates for raising additional resources during natural calamities and disasters, exemptions, threshold limits and the other issues will be decided by November 22, so that the model laws can then be considered for passage in the winter session of Parliament.
Secretariat set up
The Cabinet’s approvals on Monday include clearances for the creation of the GST Council Secretariat, with its office in New Delhi. It also sanctioned the creation of new jobs — Additional Secretary to the Council and four posts of Commissioner at the level of Joint Secretary to the Centre — in the Secretariat. Dr. Adhia said the Centre was open to State officials being deputed for these posts.
The appointments approved include that of the Union Revenue Secretary as the ex-officio secretary of the Council and the inclusion of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairperson as a permanent and non-voting invitee to all of its proceedings.
The Cabinet also decided to provide adequate funds for meeting the recurring and non-recurring expenses of the Secretariat. The entire cost is being borne by the Centre.
