GST Council meet begins in Hyderabad

Hyderabad :  The GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is meeting here today to discuss the quantum of cess to be hiked on luxury and mid-size cars, among other issues. Ahead of the meeting, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Y Ramakrishnudu said that he will highlight various demands that the state had made earlier.

“After the implementation of GST, as per our initial estimation, the state may see a short fall of Rs 2,900 crore in revenue,” Ramakrishnudu told PTI. “We also requested the council to take a lenient view on the tax slab with regard to ongoing government projects. As on today, projects worth about Rs 20,000 crore are under implementation,” he said.

Echoing his views, Telangana Finance Minister E Rajender said the state seeks to bring down tax rate on 33 items. Beedi, granite and handlooms are some of the items on which the state government wanted the tax rates to be reduced, he said. Telangana is a new state, and the burden of high tax on some of the state government projects may pose difficulties in terms of revised estimates and budgets, Rajender said.

The council is likely to take up fixing of tax anomalies on a number of common use items as well as the quantum of cess to be hiked on luxury and mid-size cars, officials told PTI. The all powerful council, comprising state finance ministers, is likely to consider lowering tax rates on over two dozen products, including idli/dosa batter, dried tamarind, custard powder and kitchen gas lighter after anomalies in their fixations were pointed out, officials said.

As per the agenda, the council will confirm the minutes of 20th GST council meet held on August 5. The council would also decide the date of the next meeting. This is the third meeting of the GST Council since the launch of the Goods and Services Tax on July 1, and the 21st since it was set up in September last year. The council has over the past 10 months ironed out various contentious issues and decided on a four-tier tax structure of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent.