Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman To Chair 42nd GST Council Meeting Today

Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 42nd GST Council meeting via video conferencing on October 5, Monday, in New Delhi. Besides Finance Minister Sitharaman, Anurag Thakur, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance, will also attend the meeting. Other attendees include Finance Ministers from various union territories and states as well as senior officers from the Union and state governments.

The Ministry of Finance announced the news via its Twitter handle. The tweet read, “Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman will chair the 42nd GST Council meeting via video conferencing at 11 AM in New Delhi today. The meeting will be attended by MOS Shri. @ianuragthakur besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs and Senior officers from Union Government & States."

Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman will chair the 42nd GST Council meeting via video conferencing at 11 AM in New Delhi today. The meeting will be attended by MOS Shri. @ianuragthakur besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs and Senior officers from Union Government & States. pic.twitter.com/XsoHM7X8dq

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) October 5, 2020

What You Should Know: 

• Finance Minister Sitaraman will chair the 42nd GST Council meeting via video conferencing on October 5 in New Delhi.
• Besides Sitharaman, Anurag Thakur, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance, will also attend the meeting.
• Other attendees include Finance Ministers from various union territories and states as well as senior officers from the Union and state governments.

Also Read: SC Stays Proceedings On Pleas Filed Against GST On Sanitary Pads

Taking Things Forward From The Last Meeting

The GST Council’s last meeting took place on August 27. As per ANI, the Council gave the states two options regarding GST compensation at the meeting. These options included the provision of Rs. 97,000 crores (shortfall only on account of GST implementation) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through a special window and meeting the entire GST compensation gap of Rs.2.35 lakh crores (including Rs 1.38 lakh crore shortfall due to COVID-19 pandemic) in consultation with the RBI.

Reportedly, the Finance Minister mentioned that the options would be available only during the current year. After the 41st GST Council meeting, states asked for seven working days to think about the options.

Also Read: Nirmala Sitharaman announces economic relief package of Rs 1.7 lakh cr

GST Estimates For The Current Year

As per the Indian Express, the Centre has estimated the GST compensation requirement for this year to be approximately Rs 3 lakh crore. It also expects the cess collection to be around Rs 65,000 crore. Notably, some states have highlighted the assumption of 10 per cent revenue growth for calculation of revenue loss on account of GST implementation as high, given that gross GST revenue grew by only 3.8 per cent in FY20 when compared with FY19.

The GST compensation to states, amounting to Rs 1.5 lakh crore till July, has been pending for this financial year. The states with the biggest share of pending payments are Maharashtra (Rs 22,485 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 11,742 crore), and Karnataka (Rs 13,763 crore).

Also Read: Nirmala Sitharaman announces programs aimed at women

Tarini Gandhiok is an intern with SheThePeople.TV