With a monthly collection of Goods & Services Tax (GST) dipping to a 19-month low, the GST Council Secretariat has announced setting up of a committee to augment collections and improve administration. The panel has been asked to submit the report within 15 days.

This development took place ten days after the collection for the month of September was found to dip to ₹91,916 crore, the lowest after February 2018. Not only this, the revenue during September declined by 2.67 per cent as compared to the mop-up during September last year. The Government has set a target of collecting over ₹1 lakh crore every month during the current fiscal.

Read also: Dip in GST collections tells a story

The new committee will have 12 members -- five from the States and five from the Centre beside Joint Secretary of GST Council and Executive Vice President of GST Network (GSTN). Officers from the Centre will include Joint Secretary (Revenue), Principal Commissioner (GST PW), Joint Secretary (Tax Research Unit), Additional Director General (ARM) and Additional Director General (Systems). SGST (State Goods & Services Tax) Commissioner from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab will represent the States. As per the order issued by GST Council Secretariat, any other State could also join the committee on a voluntary basis.

Read more: At ₹92,000 crore, GST mop-up in September dives to a 19-month low

The order made it clear that the committee could consider a wide range of reforms, so that “a comprehensive list of suggestions may emerge.” It has also suggested some areas to be considered by the committee. These include systematic changes in GST including checks and balances to prevent misuse, measures to improve voluntary compliance, policy proposals and relevant modifications needed in the law, measures for expansion of tax base, improved compliance and anti-evasion measures using better data analytics and better administrative coordination.

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