GST Council has turned authoritarian

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra has said a few things, indicating a wider political rift within the federal tax body. Which is mentioned in this article.

What did Mitra say?

1. Amit Mitra, who is the finance minister of West Bengal, indicating a wider political rift within the federal tax body, said this. "The voice of the Group of Ministers in the Council of Ministers is also being suppressed. Addressing a virtual press conference, Mitra said that states gave up 70% of their taxation rights to adopt GST as consensus was earlier a decision-making approach but now it has shifted to an authoritarian approach".

2. Mitra has cordial relations with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her dedication to her was to consider these important matters, Mitra said.

3. “The consensus mechanism in the GST Council has led to a dramatic change in the authoritarian and majoritarian approach, Mitra said. It destroys the only federal institution in the country, Mitra said.” Mitra said that there should also be an inquiry as to how and who "mute" his microphone during the 44th GST Council meeting on Saturday.

4. Mitra's concerns stem from the non-acceptance of their demand of zero GST rate on key medical supplies required for COVID management or subjecting them to token 0.1%, which will both reduce the availability as well as tax reduction for consumers. Tax credits to producers. Mitra's demand for full tax relief is also shared by some other opposition-ruled states such as Kerala and Punjab. However, the Council preferred to keep most of the items at the rate of 5%.

5. He said, “How much revenue will you make on masks, on hand sanitizers? We are asking for zero-rating only for a limited period."

6. Mitra pointed out that the state's revenue for the fiscal year 2021 has come down by 3%, and hence they should pay a further compensation of Rs 63,000 crore. Earlier compensation calculations were based on overly optimistic assumptions.

7. He pointed out that a panel of officers led by a central government official that was set up to look after procedural matters - the GST Implementation Committee or GIC - is now amending important rules that are before the council only for reporting purposes. are retained and not ratified for it. The GIC was formed with officers only for procedural issues, but it decided to amend the rules related to GST registration and suspension, and the council was only informed about it.

Reduction of taxes on several medical supplies

The cut in taxes was announced in the 44th GST Council meeting on Saturday. But many states, including West Bengal, are demanding full tax exemption on medical supplies related to COVID.

Supplies Name	Rates
Medical supplies, Including oxygen, Ventilators, and Testing kits	12% to 5%
Ambulances	28% to 12%
Furnaces for crematoriums	18% to 5%
Drugs	5% to zero

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