Introduction
- GST Council is a constitutional body constituted under Article 279 A of the Indian Constitution.
- GST council is a joint forum of the centre and states, which recommends the union and state government on the issues related to GST.
Composition of GST Council
- Union Finance Minister as Chairperson
- The Union Minister of State, in-charge of Revenue or Finance as Member
- The Minister in-charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government as Members.
Functions of GST Council
- The taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the centre, the states and the local bodies that would be merged in GST.
- The goods and services that may be subjected to GST or exempted from GST.
- Model GST Laws, principles of levy, apportionment of GST levied on supplies in the course of inter-state trade or commerce and the principles that govern the place of supply.
- The threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services may be exempted from GST.
- The rates include floor rates with bands of GST.
- Any special rate or rates for a specified period to raise additional resources during any natural calamity or disaster.
- Special provision with respect to the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
- Any other matter relating to GST, as the Council may decide.
Important Points
- The decision is taken in accordance with the following principles:
- The vote of the central government shall have a weightage of one-third of the total votes cast in the meeting.
- The votes of all the state governments combined shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast in that meeting.
- Any act or proceeding of the Council will not become invalid on the following grounds.
- Any vacancy or deficit in the constitution of the Council
- Any defect in the appointment of a person as a member of the Council
- Any procedural irregularity of the Council not affecting the merits of the case.