Ask a question

Minutes of the 8th GST Council Meeting

In the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meetings, held on 3rd and 4th January 2017 headed by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley the following issues were addressed:

  • No consensus has been achieved on 'Dual Control'.
  • The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the deadline of 1 April 2017 for GST implementation seems highly improbable.
  • States demanded taxation rights for sales made in the high seas (within 12 nautical miles). Furthermore, the states requested the GST Council to increase the number of items on which this new Cess is to be levied. The Cess has been additionally proposed to compensate the states for their revenue loss (estimated at INR 900 billion).
  • Accordingly, the GST Council assured that the Cess will be levied on a list of commodities notified by the GST Council. At the end of year five, this Cess will be merged with the GST rate or divided between the Centre and states, as the Council decides. Earlier, the GST Council had decided that the Cess would be levied only on four commodities.
  • Delivering a presentation before the GST Council, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought exemption of IGST on goods transferred from Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across the states. She added that since SEZs are considered as economic zones outside the country's territory, IGST should not apply on transactions between them. She also sought lower GST rates for employment-intensive plantations, leather and cement industries and urged the Council not to end duty exemptions for exporters.
  • As many as six sectors, including banking, insurance, IT, telecom and civil aviation delivered presentations before the GST Council and pressed for a single registration either with the Centre or states under the GST regime.

The 8th two day meeting of the council concluded on 4th January, 2017 but the contentious issue of tax administration remained unresolved. The next meeting is scheduled on 11th January,2017 to resolve the same.

 

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com