The GST Council meeting slated for September 19 has been postponed to October 5, sources said on Friday. The 42nd meeting of the Council has been postponed since Parliament would be in session, they added.

The Centre had last month decided that the 41st and 42nd meeting of the Council would be held on August 27 and September 19. However, then the dates for the monsoon session of Parliament was not decided. The October 5 meeting assumes significance as the Centre and states are at loggerheads over the issue of funding Rs 2.35 lakh crore GST collection shortfall.

Of this, as per Centre's calculation, about Rs 97,000 crore is on account of GST implementation and rest Rs 1.38 lakh crore is the impact of COVID-19 on states' revenues. The Centre late last month gave two options to the states to borrow either Rs 97,000 crore from a special window facilitated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or Rs 2.35 lakh crore from market and has also proposed extending the compensation cess levied on luxury, demerit and sin goods beyond 2022 to repay the borrowing.

Chief ministers of 6 non-BJP ruled states — West Bengal, Kerala, Delhi, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu — have written to the Centre opposing the options which require states to borrow to meet the shortfall. Sources said till September 8, as many as 7 states have conveyed to the Centre about their choice of the options.

While Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tripura opted for borrowing Rs 97,000 crore, Sikkim and Manipur opted for the second option to borrow Rs 2.35 lakh crore. The Centre on its part argued that the revenue accruing from GST compensation cess goes to the states and hence the Centre cannot borrow on the security of a tax it does not own.

For April-July, the GST compensation due to states stands at Rs 1.50 lakh crore.

A look at whats happening around the majors today:

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NOT JUSTIN, SHANE

It hasnt taken Shane Bieber long to become Clevelands ace and maybe the best pitcher in baseball this season. The right-hander looks to stay unbeaten as the Indians open a three-game series in Minnesota. Bieber, who is 7-0 with a 1.25 ERA and leads the majors in numerous categories, is already 2-0 against the Twins this year. Bieber began last season as Clevelands No. 5 starter, but his ascension and the trades of Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger have solidified him as the Indians No. 1 starter.

DODGER (BLACK AND) BLUE

A couple of starting pitchers are dinged up for the major league-leading Dodgers. Walker Buehler went on the 10-day injured list Thursday because of a lingering blister on the index finger of his right hand. A little bit later, Dustin May was pulled after just one inning with a bruised left foot after he was hit by a sharp grounder against Arizona. I think tomorrow when we get back home well do a CT scan, manager Dave Roberts said. We should know more then.

SO LONG, FAREWELL

A pair of NL West teams said goodbye Thursday to familiar faces and former All-Stars at third base. San Francisco released Pablo Sandoval, parting ways for a second time with the fan favorite and 2012 World Series MVP. Arizona kept up its roster overhaul when Jake Lamb was designated for assignment after he struggled for the majority of three straight seasons.

HELP ON THE WAY?

Atlanta’s beleaguered rotation took another hit when left-hander Tommy Milone was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with elbow inflammation. Milone hasnt been the Band-Aid the Braves hoped they were getting when they acquired him in a trade with Baltimore, pitching to a 14.90 ERA in three starts for Atlanta. The Braves are playing without their entire projected rotation but still lead the NL East, largely because of an offense that trailed only San Diego for the major league lead in runs entering Thursday. Atlanta could get some help next week from veteran Cole Hamels, who has yet to pitch this season because of triceps tendinitis. Hamels threw Thursday at the alternate training site.

MOOKIE MOVES TO SECOND

Mookie Betts is already one of the best players in the big leagues and a front-runner for NL MVP at seasons end. Now hes also a Dodgers second baseman. The 27-year-old made his first start at the position since 2014 on Thursday night against the Diamondbacks. Betts isnt a total stranger to second, playing there in the minors and starting 14 games at the position during his rookie season with the Red Sox. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said he wants to make sure the roster is as flexible as possible for the postseason and that Betts was excited about the opportunity.

FIRST PLACE AND FIRED UP

Oakland right-hander Mike Fiers (4-2, 4.93 ERA) starts for the AL West leaders when they begin a series at Texas. Fiers has gone 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA over his last four starts and the As are 6-2 in his outings. Oakland took a 6-game lead on second-place Houston after beating the Astros in four of five at the Coliseum.

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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Assam government has decided to pay up to Rs 5,000 as cremation expense to district administrations in case of each COVID-19 death, if family members of the deceased do not receive the body or are not in a financial position to perform the last rites.

The deputy commssioners had expressed difficulties in this regard, following which the decision to extend monetary assistance was arrived at, an order issued by Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Department, Samir Sinha, said on Friday.

In another order, the department said a person, who travels to any location outside Assam and returns to the state within 96 hours of departure, will not be required to undergo quarantine for the stipulated period of 10 days subject to certain conditions.

The returnee must undergo Rapid Antigen Test and if the result is positive, then the the person shall undergo home isolation/treatment at a COVID care centre, as per protocol.

If the report is negative, the swab sample would be taken for RT-PCR testing and the person will have to remain in isolation till the result is declared, it said.

In case the RT-PCR test result is positive, the person will have to undergo home isolation/treatment at a COVID care centre as per norms and if the report is negative, there is no need for further quarantine.

Assam has reported 1,35,805 coronavirus cases so far and 414 people have died due to the contagion.

Physical hearings may be completely done away with in various appellate tribunals such as NCLAT, TDSAT and IPAB, a parliamentary panel recommended on Friday.

The committee, headed by BJP MP Bhupender Yadav, said that virtual court proceedings can become a permanent feature for several quasi-judicial tribunals since physical presence of litigants or lawyers is not required for adjudication of disputes.

“The Committee is also of the opinion that Virtual Courts can be extended permanently to various Appellate Tribunals like TDSAT, IPAB, NCLAT etc., located across the country which do not require personal appearances of the parties/advocates. Permanent Virtual Courts can also be established for hearing matters relating to Administrative and other Tribunals at the time of final hearing,” read the report.

It pointed out that such a step will cut down the cost and increase the efficiency in disposal of the cases without being unnecessarily adjourned.

“The expenditure involved in the establishment of a large number of Tribunals/Courts can be cut down sizeably. This will also reduce the crowd in the court and cut down other litigation costs and overheads,” added the 103rd report of the parliamentary panel on virtual courts.

The report has also recommended that virtual courts should continue even after the pandemic is over and integration of virtual courts into the legal ecosystem should be a lasting mission.

The parliamentary committee said that transfer of certain categories of cases from regular court establishments to virtual courts will reduce the pendency of cases which has been clogging the wheels of justice for decades.

It favoured having a permanent system of virtual courts as a parallel to the physical courts. “The Committee is of the opinion that introduction of Virtual Courts would result in an improvement over traditional courts as they are more affordable, citizen-friendly and offer greater access to justice. They yield substantial savings in costs for both individual litigants and Courts. Traditional courts, by and large, are accessible to very few people and even then only at disproportionate expense and effort, virtual courts can help overcome these injustices.”

It recommended that all such matters where personal presence may be dispensed with, can be transferred from regular court establishments to virtual courts.

In opposition to virtual courts by lawyers’ bodies for want of technological knowledge and access to computer devices, the panel said that the lawyers will have to keep up with the changing times and use technological skills in combination with their specialized legal knowledge. It suggested that the Bar Council of India may introduce computer courses as one of the subjects in three year/five year courses to enable the students to get trained in handling computers.

As it emphasized on better digital connectivity and broadband access to all courts across the country, the panel expressed unhappiness that e-Courts Integrated Mission mode project is progressing at a “tortoise’s pace” and noted that virtual hearing of cases is an impossible proposition without proper infrastructure in place.

It asked the Department of Justice to identify the bottlenecks and take necessary remedial measures to ensure that the targets are achieved more ambitiously in the prescribed time frame.

The committee also recommended necessary amendments may be brought in laws to legalise virtual courts while pointing out that the Supreme Court began this facility by way of a judicial order issued under Article 142 of the Constitution.