GST Council agenda items being prepared without consultation: Andhra Finance Minister

New Delhi [India], Jan 10 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh's minister of Finance and Planning, Commercial Taxes and Legislative Affairs Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Thursday alleged that the GST Council agenda items are being prepared without consulting the states.
"States have issues particularly related to exemptions and reductions in rates of taxes, some of which are not at all discussed, even though several letters are sent to the Council. I demand that henceforth agenda items to be fixed taking into consideration the requests of the states also," he said after the 32nd meeting of the GST Council.
Ramakrishnudu supported the proposal to increase the turnover limit for composition levy from Rs 1.00 Crore to Rs 1.50 Crore and also the proposal of filing the annual return with quarterly payment in lieu of quarterly returns, as these proposals benefit small taxpayers by reducing the compliance burden.
On the issue of raising the threshold of registration from Rs 20 Lakhs to Rs 40 Lakhs for taxpayers dealing in goods, the minister supported the proposal as it will benefit the MSMEs, even though there will be a loss of revenue to the state. Furthermore, he requested the center to compensate for the revenue loss incurred by states.
Andhra's finance minister also asserted that there is an unsettled IGST amount to an extent of Rs 7000 crores, adding: "This ad-hoc settlement should also be done and released to the states without delay. Andhra Pradesh is expected to get about Rs 100 Crore."
In a big relief for small traders, the GST Council on Thursday decided to exempt businesses with annual turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh from paying taxes under the GST, raising the threshold from Rs 20 lakh.
For small and hilly states like Jammu and Kashmir and those in the north-eastern region, the threshold has been raised from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. These states, however, will be free to increase the limit further on their own. (ANI)