New Delhi: The Centre will clear the entire pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation cess of Rs 16,962 crore due to states, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, following the meeting of the 49th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council at the Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital on Saturday.
The Centre has decided to release the amount from its own resources and this will be recouped from the future compensation cess collection, she said.
Centre to clear admissible final GST compensation too
With this release, the Centre would clear the entire provisionally admissible compensation dues for five years as envisaged in the GST (Compensation to States) Act 2017, it said. The Centre will also clear the admissible final GST compensation to those states who have provided revenue figures certified by the accountant general, which amounts to Rs 16,524 crore, Sitharaman said.
The GST Council also decided to set up a national GST appellate tribunal with a primary bench in Delhi and benches in other states, Sitharaman said. The number of benches in a state will be decided by the state government based on the requirement of its population, she said after the 49th meeting of the council.
85% consensus among states for one tribunal body
The council had accepted the report submitted by the Group of Ministers on GST appellate tribunal with certain modifications, she said.
Some states, including West Bengal, wanted a state GST appellate tribunal, instead of a national body, West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said. However, there was 85% consensus among the states for one tribunal body, said Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan.
The paper work required for setting up of the tribunal will be completed by March so that the required provisions can be included in the Finance Bill for 2023-24, Sitharaman said.
The Parliament is likely to pass the Finance Bill in March.
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