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Goods and Services Tax Council

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Polity & Governance
  • Published
    1st Jul, 2022

Context

The 47th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council conducted in Chandigarh.

What is the GST Council?

  • Simply put, GST Council is the governing body for the implementation of GST rules in India. 
  • Creation of the GST Council was facilitated by the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Second Amendment) Bill 2016.
  • The Goods and Services Tax Council is a constitutional body under Article 279A (1).
  • The secretariat office is situated in New Delhi and Union Revenue Secretary acts as the ex-officio Secretary to the GST Council. 
  • Objectives: The main task of the council is to make recommendations to the Union and the States on important issues related to GST, like:
    • The goods and services that may come under the banner of GST
    • Model GST Laws
    • Principles that govern Place of Supply
    • Threshold limits
    • GST rates including the floor rates with bands
    • Special rates for raising additional resources during natural calamities/disasters
    • The appointment of Goods and Services Tax levied on supplies in the course of Inter-State trade or commerce under article 269A
    • Making special provisions for the following states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
  • The Supreme Court recently made it clear that the Council is only a recommendatory body and its recommendations are not binding on Centre or states. 

As per the Supreme court, the Council’s recommendations will have a “persuasive value” and that both Parliament and the state legislatures can equally legislate on the matters related to GST.

Members

The GST Council consists of the following members:

  • The Union Finance Minister (as Chairman)
  • The Union Minister of State in-charge of Revenue or Finance
  • The Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister, nominated by each State Government

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