Finance Ministers of Opposition-party ruled States interacted informally over video conferencing to present a joint case at the meeting of GST Council on Friday. Talking to reporters here today, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said he wants the GST council to discuss the possibility of creating a separate band of SGST to meet the large deficit. “Unless the GST Council meets very often, we will not be able to achieve a credible GST,” Badal said.
He said even though the economy has gone down in the last seven and a half months, the Centre did not convene the GST Council even once. “People are demanding leadership at this moment of crisis. People need solutions to the problems this country is facing,” he said.
‘Suitable tax policy’
Badal said Covid has created an emergency situation and the country should think about a suitable tax policy at this time to help the economy to recover. He said the GST Implementation Committee is now run by the bureaucracy. “GST Council’s federal structure has to be strengthened. We will not hand over sovereignty of the country to bureaucracy. The decision-making cannot be left to bureaucrats. They cannot take decisions by amending rules and inform the GST Council about their decisions. The agenda of the council must be reversed or formal approval must be taken from States. Some of the decisions which have already been taken should be approved by the States,” he said.
He said section 279(11) of the GST Act provides for appointment of a Vice-Chairman for the GST Council.
“A minister from the Opposition State should be made vice chairman of the GST Council. The GST Council should have a separate secretariat. It is already over four and a half years since the constitution of the . We have to correct the mechanism in its formative stage,” he said and raised doubts about conducting voting in a meeting held virtually. “How do we conduct voting? These things undermine federalism,” he said.
He said GST compensation is the major issue for States. “Punjab should get ₹5,000 crore as compensation. It is a big amount for the State,” he said. The meeting, he said, will also discuss tax rate on equipment and medicines for Covid management. “They are very costly because of the tax on them. We are in a war-like situation. Such taxation cannot be accepted. We will demand zero tax on life saving drugs and equipment and input tax credit,” he said.