After meeting FM Nirmala Sitharaman, Karnataka CM Basavaraja Bommai said the GoM for rationalising GST rates will meet soon
The Group of Ministers (GoM) formed to rationalise GST rates and shore up revenue will meet soon, said the panel's chairman and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai, after meeting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday. The ministerial panel has to submit a report in the next two months.
"Very soon, I will call the first meeting of GoM. I met her (Finance Minister) in this backdrop," Bommai told reporters after the meeting.
Bommai said he discussed important issues related to rationalisation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates and ways to increase revenue during his meeting with the Union Finance Minister.
In September, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council had decided to set up two GoMs to shore up revenues. Bommai's seven-member group constituted by the Finance Ministry includes West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal, as well as GST Council members from Goa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
On the question of whether the Centre has released the pending GST compensation to Karnataka, Chief Minister Bommai said it has been cleared till financial year 2019-20. For FY21, the state was to get ₹11,800 crore which is being released in phases.
For the current fiscal, the Centre has sanctioned GST compensation of ₹18,000 crore via loan, the CM said, adding a higher amount was sanctioned as the state GST collection has improved when compared to the last year.
Besides GST, Bommai also sought more support for Karnataka under programmes implemented by Nabard. "I have sought higher allocation to the state under one of Nabard's infrastructure schemes."
Bommai raised a request for an increase in loan amount from the current ₹1,500 crore given by Nabard for farmers and rural development. He further mentioned that FM Sitharaman will visit the state and attend separate programmes of Nabard and SIDBI.
