PANAJI
The State of Goa will receive Rs 120 crore as balance GST compensation pending for June 2022 as the Government of India on Saturday decided to clear the entire pending balance GST compensation of Rs 16,982 crore for June 2022 for states across India.
Since, there is no amount in the GST compensation Fund, Centre has decided to release this amount from its own resources and the same will be recouped from the future compensation cess collection, states a release by GST council.
The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said this while addressing a press conference soon after the 49th meeting of the GST Council ended on Saturday in Delhi.
She also informed that Rs 16,524 crore to six states which have submitted the accountant general’s (AG) certificate will also be released.
Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are among the six states which have submitted AG certificates.
Though submission of AG certificate is a requirement for the states to seek GST compensation, Sitharaman said that it wasn’t a strict pre-requisite, as 90 per cent of funds are anyway released to the states, while the remaining amount is given after the AG certificate is submitted.
The GST Council meeting, which was held at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi, discussed matters pertaining to setting up of appellate tribunals and curbing tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha businesses.
The group of ministers’ (GoM) report on taxation for pan masala was accepted by the council. At the meeting, the GST Council decided to reduce GST on pencil sharpeners and certain tracking devices. Exemption on coal rejects supplied by and to the washeries was also approved by the Council. Also, GST on a type of liquid jaggery has been reduced to nil from 18 per cent if sold loose. If it’s pre-packaged and labelled, the tax rate on it would be 5 per cent.
The GST Council also recommended rationalisation of late fee for delayed filing of annual returns. However, no decision could be arrived at by the fitment committee for SUVs and MUVs.
Sitharaman said that the GST Council decided to tax services supplied by courts and tribunals under the reverse charge mechanism.
She also informed that the decision on the GST Appellate Tribunal has been accepted with change in language and the modification in draft will be circulated within a week.
