Punjab, Delhi force GST council adjournment

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 20

The 33rd meeting of the GST Council was adjourned to Sunday after Finance Ministers of opposition ruled states including Punjab, Delhi and Kerala opposed videoconferencing and sought a physical interaction instead.

“More members wanted the meeting via videoconferencing to take place today but some members wanted a physical meeting to be held. A few expressed their opinions (through videoconferencing) and the discussions were incomplete. We will try and take the issue forward on Sunday,’’ said Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.  

It was crucial to hold the meeting also because on Wednesday was the last date for filing GSTR 3B returns and it was important to extend the date by two days all over India because the government servers had been experiencing heavy traffic. In view of the disturbances in Jammu & Kashmir, the last date for the state has been extended to February 28.  GSTR 3B must be filed by everyone who has registered for GST except for a few categories such as service distributors, and composition dealers.

Finance Ministers from six states had requested Jaitley, who is also the head of the GST Council to postpone Wednesday’s meeting because they opposed discussions on crucial issues such as a special scheme for the real estate sector and a single rate of tax on lottery at a physical meeting where each and every member of the Council is present.

The Council will consider two reports on the issue. The first, a report tabled by a team that Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel headed, will mean some relief for economically-weaker sections. The Patel panel has recommended 5 per cent GST on under-construction properties and 3 per cent for the affordable housing category. However, in both cases, input tax credit (ITC) cannot be claimed. The present GST rate is 8 per cent (after deducting four percent as land value) on affordable housing on payments made for under-construction property or ready-to-move-in flats where completion certificate has not been issued at the time of sale.

The second panel, headed by Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, has suggested a country-wide uniform rate of either 18 or 28 per cent on lottery. Currently, state-organised lottery is in the 12 percent tax slab and state-authorised lottery 28 per cent tax.