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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman: Sitharaman has written a letter to the finance ministers of all the states and thanked him for his support in implementing the historical reform of the GST system.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman: Underlining the spirit of cooperative federalism, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has written a letter to the finance ministers of all the states and thanked him for his support in implementing the historical reform of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system. In an interview with PTI, Sitharaman said that the states gave their views on the proposal of tax rates but eventually agreed that it was for the benefit of the common man. He said that from September 22, it will reduce the rates of many products from butter to chocolate and shampoo to tractor and air conditioner. Said that it was agreed in the GST Council meeting on 3 September. The panel was headed by Sitharaman and it included representatives of all states and union territories. Sitharaman wrote a letter to the Finance Minister of each state yesterday.
Approval received on the first day of the meeting
The Finance Minister said that despite the apprehensions on the loss of revenue from classifying most of the products into categories, 5 percent for general use items and 18 percent for all others. While abolishing 12 and 28 percent slabs, took a unanimous decision for GST restructuring. The panel was to meet for two days starting from September 3 to discuss the proposal made by the Center, but it was approved on the first day. Sitharaman said that therefore, there was a feeling of the House that this is a proposal that is undoubtedly benefiting the common man. There is no point in standing against it. The minister said that the state was always in favor of the reduction in rate and after their only concern, their revenue was in relation to the implication. I also appealed to him, people will come out for shopping, and it will take care of the impact on revenue. In this way consensus was reached.
Thank you for the cooperation of the states
Speaking at a press conference after the GST Council meeting, Sitharaman thanked the states for cooperation and collective efforts in implementing one of the most important tax reforms of India. On Saturday, he said that the council patiently heard every comment and suggestion made by its members. He said that before reaching the consensus, all the points were discussed intense. He also highlighted the inclusive nature of discussions and said that many ministers who wanted to speak again after the discussion on their initial points were given the opportunity to do so. The Finance Minister insisted that his additional suggestions were heard and considered. He also credited the creative participation of the states in the GST Council and his commitment to pursue tax reforms.
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