GST Council
Why in news : The 48th GST Council meeting was held on December 17.
Key recommendations of the GST council meeting :
- It recommended to decriminalize certain offences under Section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017.
- Some other recommendations, for the facilitation of trade, include an increased threshold of the amount of tax for prosecution, reducing the compounding amount in GST etc.
Previously criminalized sections Under GST :
- The GST law establishes stringent penalties and guidelines that taxpayers must abide by in order to ensure smooth intrastate or interstate trade of goods and to combat corruption and maintain an effective tax collection system.
- Sections 122 to 131 of the CGST Act of 2017 contain provisions relating to penalties.
- Sections 132 to 138 contains provisions relating to prosecution and compounding.
Key facts about GST council :
- It is a constitutional body set up under article 279A (1) of the Indian Constitution.
- It is a joint forum of both centre and states.
- The main aim of the council is to make recommendations on various issues relating to GST.
Members of the Council :
- The Union Finance Minister acts as the Chairperson of the forum
- The Union Minister of State in-charge of Revenue or Finance
- The Minister in-charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each state government
Working mechanism of the Council :
- The quorum of the council is one half of the total number of members.
- Every decision in the council should be taken by atleast 3/4th of the weighted votes of the members present and voting.
- The vote of the central government shall have a weightage of one-third of the total votes voted in the meeting.
- The votes of all the state governments combined shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes which are cast in the council meeting.
Syllabus : Prelims + Mains; GS3 – Indian Economy
