Next-Gen GST Launch To Coincide With Durga Puja, Says FM In Kolkata
- FM Nirmala Sitharaman links GST rollout date of Sept 22 to Durga Puja celebrations in Bengal
- Next-Gen GST reforms lower tax on Bengal products like Darjeeling tea, Shantiniketan leather & Purulia chhau masks
- Centre rules out compensation to states, says GST reforms aim at simplification and future rationalisation of slabs
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed that the choice to introduce the goods and services tax (GST) changes from Sept 22 was determined by Durga Puja dates, as a seeming attempt to appeal to Bengal voters a few months before the assembly elections. Addressing 'Next-Gen GST Reforms Committee' programme organized by BJP's Bengal state unit in Kolkata, Sitharaman mentioned, 'The decision of choosing Sept 22 was largely driven by puja'.
She also mentioned that the Centre's original plan was to implement the GST reforms around Deepavali. But industry associations said they would have to wait and people would only shop and window-shop. Industry associations said, "please get it (GST reforms) from tomorrow", the finance minister stated.
That was not achieved because the GST network had to be ready and sellers and small traders needed to be provided with time to implement and adapt to the new choice, based on the finance minister.
"In making that decision, someone said why don't you begin it from Sept 10. Then someone else said Sept 15. We said: no, wait. What is the first date of Bengal's puja? It comes after Shradh… The suva mangal diwas is the first day of Navratri, the second day of Mahalaya. So don't you notice a very strong Bengali influence in this decision-making?", she said.
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The Union finance minister read out a list of items where GST rates have been lowered to 5% and it included Shantiniketan leather products, Darjeeling tea and Purulia chhau masks and stated that the changes will empower artisans, farmers and small entrepreneurs of Bengal directly and make their products competitive in domestic and international markets.
Sitharaman, in her address, indicated that the Centre was not on the cards any compensation to states, which is a demand put forth by several opposition-ruled states to compensate for possible revenue losses due to the recent GST cuts. "If GST is split 50/50 between the Centre and the states, 41% of the Centre's share ends up going to states. So in the end, the Centre is left with only around 23%. So if collections decline, it hits the Centre as well as states", she stated. She further noted that the GST Council had resolved to rationalise GST slabs, but the nation was 'not yet' ready for a single-rate GST regime.
"When a review of GST was done, one of the requirements that were recognized was that they (GST Council members) did not want four rates. But whether they were willing to come into a one rate scenario yet, the answer was given as not yet. Perhaps sometime in the future", she stated.
As per her, the process of reform ongoing as part of 'new generation GST reforms' aimed to simplify and streamline the system, and make it more equitable, particularly for the poor and middle class.
