Chennai: Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam took part in the GST Council meet headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi today. Representatives from various States took part in the meeting.
The meet gains significance as reports state that the Council may restructure tax slabs, even as the issue was not part of the agenda.
Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that no discussions have yet taken place with regard to increasing GST rates. ”The buzz is everywhere except in my office. I have had no conversations on the GST Council meeting with my team yet.”
The meeting was also expected to discuss the recent fall in revenue collection. The GST collection in November 2019 was Rs 1,03,492 crore. Of this CGST was Rs 19,592 crore, IGST collections stood at Rs 49,028 crore, SGST at Rs 27,144 crore, and cess collection was at Rs 7,727 crore.
Meanwhile, ahead of Union Budget 2020-21, Nirmala Sitharaman started her first pre-Budget consultation exercise a couple of days ago. She held a meeting with various stakeholders representing different sectors to seek inputs from them.
Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to present her second Budget on 1 February.