Kovid antidote will not reduce GST in any way. Kovid is not even in medicine for treatment. In both cases, the Center wants to collect GST at the rate of five per cent. This also applies to the PPE-Kit. The Center is also reluctant to reduce the GST on ventilators from 12 per cent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asks to wear a mask. But his government is unwilling to reduce the GST on N-95 or three-tier masks from 5 per cent. The Center also wants to introduce 18 per cent GST on body temperature measuring devices from hand washing sanitizers.
The GST Council of Union and state finance ministers met today to discuss how to reduce GST on various products during the Kovid period. But opposition-ruled states also retaliated today as the Center refused to reduce GST. Nine finance ministers, including West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Harkhand, have demanded from the Congress that the GST rate be reduced to zero on everything from vaccines to Kovid.
No decision was taken due to lack of consensus. West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra told the meeting that he would give a decent note if any other decision was taken. The finance ministers of Congress-ruled Punjab and Chhattisgarh have taken a similar stance. Decent notes on video conferencing can mean leaving a meeting. Gujarat Finance Minister Nitin Patel also said that the issue should be discussed from a humanitarian point of view. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had to step down due to the unwavering attitude of the state finance ministers. That’s right, a group will be formed with the finance ministers of some states in this regard. The decision will be taken by June 8 after the committee’s report.
The GST Council Bureaucrats Committee had recommended that the GST on vaccines and other products should not be reduced. However, the GST rate on oxygen, oxygen concentrator, pulse oximeter and Kovid test kit should be reduced from 12 to 5 per cent. But even the finance ministers of the opposition-ruled states did not agree. After the meeting, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal stormed the Center. On the other hand, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman argues,
Questioned on behalf of. On the other hand is against humanity. Where the rate of GST ultimately benefits the people, the trial is considered. The cabinet will be formed tomorrow to take a quick decision. ”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to withdraw the GST on vaccines. Nirmala objected that the vaccine manufacturers would not get tax relief on raw materials. Ticker prices will go up. Finance ministers in West Bengal and Punjab have demanded that the GST rate be reduced to zero. To reduce the tax burden, tax breaks are also matched. The Center did not agree to that either. Today, Amit and Manpreet are demanding an increase in the GST rate on vaccines to 0.1 per cent if not zero. But the Union Finance Ministry did not approve it either.
Compensation for GST, with the help of the Modi government, has created a platform for inter-state disputes. If the states’ revenue from GST does not increase by 14 per cent, the Center will fill that gap. But after Kovid’s advance last year, the Center revealed its incompetence. Now the Center itself lends to the state. Nirmala said the same system would be maintained in the current financial year. The Center estimates that the revenue deficit of the states will be Rs 2.69 lakh crore. Of this, Rs 1.1 lakh crore comes from the cess on luxury or harmful products. The Center will provide the remaining Rs 1.58 lakh crore to the states.
Union Finance Minister Amit Mitra has objected that the economy has shrunk by three per cent from April last year to January this year. But the Center estimates an increase of six per cent. In fact, it will have to borrow Rs 2.13 lakh crore. Therefore, the states have to pay Rs 63,500 crore to the Center. West Bengal has arrears of Rs 8,989 crore. Amit demanded that the money be given as grants to the states. The finance ministers of other states also made similar demands and asked Nirmala to provide their accounts in writing. The Punjab Finance Minister said the Center needs a primary school math teacher for GST compensation. The Central Government is reducing the proposed compensation by 33% by showing false income. “We will write to the states to find out how much to borrow,” said Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj. Only then will the image become clear. “The ABJP states claim that compensation for GST should be maintained after 2022. The Center said that this would be discussed separately in the GST Council.
