Congress on Saturday demanded that the Center extend the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Compensation Period by three years, claiming that the states’ fiscal position is as fragile as ever and that this requires urgent corrective action.
Speaking to the media on the second day of the Congress’s ongoing ‘Chintan Shivir’, senior leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said the time is right for a comprehensive overhaul of the fiscal relations of the center states. .
“The consequences of the poorly drafted and unfairly implemented GST laws introduced by the Modi government in 2017 are publicly visible,” he said.
The fiscal position of the states is as fragile as ever and in need of urgent recovery measures, Chidambaram said.
He added that there is a “complete breach of trust” between the Center and the states.
In response to a question, Mr Chidambaram said: “We believe that the five-year compensation period expiring on June 30, 2022 should be extended. It should be extended for at least another three years.”
“We would strongly disapprove of any attempt by the Central Government or the Union Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) to persuade the GST Council and prevent it from extending the GST compensation period by recommends another three years. We will strongly oppose that and we will push for it to be extended,” Chidambaram said.
Ms Sitharaman had said in March that many states have requested an extension of the compensation mechanism under the GST beyond June 2022.
Under the GST Act, beginning July 1, 2017, states were guaranteed bi-monthly compensation for any lost revenue in the first five years of GST implementation.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
