Eight parties, including the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Telangana Rashtra Samithi, on Thursday staged a protest outside Parliament, demanding clearance of the Goods and Services Tax dues, or GST, according to ANI.
The MPs from these parties held placards and raised the slogan: “We want compensation of the GST.”
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut claimed that the Centre owed the Maharashtra government Rs 25,000 crore in overall dues. “How will we fight against Covid-19?” the Rajya Sabha MP asked, demanding the clearance of dues.
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran submitted an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha over “GST dues payable to Tamil Nadu by the Government of India”, according to Deccan Herald.
On August 27, the Ministry of Finance had said that the coronavirus pandemic severely hit GST collection, creating a deficit of Rs 2.35 lakh crore for the 2020-’21 fiscal year.
The finance ministry had also consulted Attorney General KK Venugopal for his legal opinion on GST collection and compensation. Venugopal told the government that the states had to be paid GST compensation for a transition period from July 2017 to June 2022.
The Centre had then on August 30 formally proposed two options for borrowings to meet the shortfall and given states seven days to choose one of them. The first option was that the states may borrow the full compensation deficit of Rs 2.35 lakh crore via a special window in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India. The second option entailed borrowing the entire projected shortfall of Rs 2.35 lakh crore this year, facilitated by the central bank.
Earlier this month, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel demanded Rs 2,828 crore as GST dues. In a letter, he suggested that the Centre provide the compensation by taking a loan itself or using some other resources.
Later on September 11, the Ministry of Finance announced that it has released the sixth equated installment of Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as grants-in-aid to cover the deficit on post-devolution revenue as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission amid the coronavirus crisis. The finance ministry had released the first installment on April 3.
Kerala has received the maximum amount of GST dues from the government – Rs 1,276.92 crore, followed by Himachal Pradesh (Rs 952.58 crore), Punjab (Rs 638.25 crore), Assam (Rs 631.58 crore), Andhra Pradesh (491.42 crore), Uttarakhand (Rs 423 crore), West Bengal (Rs 417.75 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 335.42 crore), Nagaland (Rs 326.42 crore), Tripura (Rs 269.67 crore), Manipur (Rs 235.33 crore), Mizoram (Rs 118.50 crore), Meghalaya (Rs 40.92 crore) and Sikkim (Rs 37.33 crore).
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!