GST Council : Daily Current Affairs

GST Council

CONTEXT:

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 45th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council on September 17 at Lucknow.

IMPORTANT POINTERS:

Goods & Services Tax Council (GST Council) is a constitutional body for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax.
The 101st Amendment Act of 2016 paved the way for the introduction of a new tax regime (i.e. goods and services tax – GST) in the country. The smooth and efficient administration of this tax requires cooperation and coordination between the centre and the states.
In order to facilitate this consultation process, the amendment provided for the establishment of a GST Council.
The amendment inserted a new Article 279-A in the Constitution of India. This article empowered the President to constitute a GST Council by an order.
Accordingly, the President issued the order in 2016 and constituted the Council. The Secretariat of the Council is located in New Delhi. The Union Revenue Secretary acts as the ex-officio Secretary to the Council.
The Council is a joint forum of the centre and the states and consists of the following members:

The Union Finance Minister as the Chairperson

The Union Minister of State in-charge of Revenue or Finance

The Minister in-charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each state government

The members of the Council from the states have to choose one amongst themselves to be the Vice-Chairperson of the Council. They can also decide his term.

The Union Cabinet also decided to include the Chairperson of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) as a permanent invitee (non-voting) to all proceedings of the Council.

The Council is required to make recommendations to the centre and the states on the following matters:

The taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the centre, the states and the local bodies that would be merged in GST.

The goods and services that may be subjected to GST or exempted from GST.

Model GST Laws, principles of levy, apportionment of GST levied on supplies in the course of inter-state trade or commerce and the principles that govern the place of supply.

The threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services may be exempted from GST.

The rates include floor rates with bands of GST.

Any special rate or rates for a specified period to raise additional resources during any natural calamity or disaster.

Special provision with respect to the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Any other matter relating to GST, as the Council may decide.

Sources