GST Council Meeting Live: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman To Brief Media On Decisions Shortly

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will brief the media on decisions taken at today’s Goods and Services Tax Council meeting at 5:45 p.m. The meeting assumes significance with many non-Bharatiya Janata Party ruled states still in disagreement with the central government on the compensation issue.

While as many as 21 states, mostly ruled by the BJP or parties which have supported it on issues, had till mid-September opted to borrow Rs 97,000 crore to meet the GST revenue shortfall in the current fiscal, opposition-led states like West Bengal, Punjab and Kerala have not yet accepted the borrowing option given by the centre.

The meeting is headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Sources told PTI that in the 42nd meeting of the Council on Oct. 5, opposition-ruled states would object to the centre's borrowing options and demand alternative mechanism for funding GST compensation deficit.

The centre in August gave two options to the states to borrow either Rs 97,000 crore from a special window facilitated by the Reserve Bank of India or Rs 2.35 lakh crore from market, and has proposed extending the compensation cess levied on luxury, demerit and sin goods beyond 2022 to repay the borrowing.

Chief Ministers of six 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 shortfall.