In a ‘big decision’ that could help in pushing the GST Bill through the Parliament, the wording for the five-year compensation to be paid to the states has been worked out Tuesday, during the state finance ministers meet.
Announcing the decision, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said that the principle of GST rate has been decided. “Principle of GST rate decided — rate should provide relief to common man while not resulting in loss of revenue to states,” Mitra told reporters.
He added that businesses earning less than Rs 1.5 crore turnover will be under state control, and those above that will be jointly controlled by the state and Centre.
The GST Bill has been blocked by Congress in the last few Parliament sessions, with the party seeking an 18 per cent cap on the rate. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, spoke to senior members of the Congress before the current Monsoon Session began to build consensus on the Bill. The Congress has 60 members in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, but the NDA government is hoping for the passage of the Bill with support from other state parties.