GST - FM to Meet State FMs today
SPEAKING in the Lok Sabha yesterday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said,
Tomorrow, I have called all the Finance Ministers of the States and GST is an issue on which broadly most parties have agreed.
A major impediment in the implementation of the GST has been the trust deficit between the States and the Centre. One of the major reasons for this trust deficit is non-payment of the CST compensation to the States from 2010 onwards. In my meeting with the Empowered Committee of the State Finance Ministers on 3rd July, 2014, I had committed that partial payment of the outstanding CST compensation will be released this year. I stand by this commitment given by me. Despite difficult and challenging situation, I proposed to release about Rs.11,000crore which is one-third this year as part payment of CST compensation to the States. This will take care of the amount from 2010-11 onwards; the balance amount I will start paying from the next financial year onwards when hopefully the situation would be better. ...
GST is not an issue on which we are divided on partisan lines. Most State Governments are going to benefit; the revenues are going to improve as far as the Centre is concerned and States are concerned. I wish to just assure this House with this commitment.