GST council meet: Government to constitute 7-member GoM to discuss Kerala cess proposal

New Delhi, Sep 28: Several key decision were taken at the 30th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meet chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the national capital on Friday (September 28). Jaitley, after the meeting, said that a 7-member Group of Ministers would be formed to look into Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac's proposal that an additional cess be imposed for a limited period of time so that the additional funds raised can be used to rehabilitate flood-hit Kerala.

"We are making a 7 member group of ministers which will discuss the Kerala Cess proposal. This 7 member committee will have members of North East, hill and coastal states. Committee members will be announced soon," Jaitley said.

Issac had not called for a nationwide cess in order to save other states from the discomfort. There, however, is no provision for a state-specific cess in the GST Act.

Jaitley said that GST council secretary will visit revenue deficit states to take stock of the revenue position.

"Detailed presentation took place about revenue position. It had been decided earlier that GST council secretary will visit revenue deficit states and analyse it. It was found that there's no revenue shortfall in consuming North-east states," he said.

"Bihar imposed additional VAT in 2015-16 when tax reduced due to the prohibition of alcohol. Taxation inflated by 27% as compared to the previous year. Bihar benefited from this aberration," the Finance Minister added.

On August 4, during the 29th GST Council meeting, it was announced that a committee has been set up to look after the grievances of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The council also announced that the GST incentives for digital payments via RuPay card and BHIM app will be rolled out on a pilot basis.