GST: States adamant on sole control over small businesses

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi-With states and Centre set to meet this week to chalk out jurisdiction over assessees under GST, a majority of states, including Kerala, West Bengal and Delhi, are sticking to their stand of sole control over entities with turnover below Rs 1.5 crore. Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac today said that a vertical division of assessees for collection of taxes and for the purpose of audit would create problems for small taxpayers. “Kerala, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Delhi, Odisha…

Majority of states want a combination of vertical and horizontal (dual control structure). Below Rs 1.5 (crore turnover), states should tax, above Rs 1.5 crore, it can be vertical division,” Issac said. After nailing a four-tier rate structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent, the GST Council at its meeting on November 4 failed to reach a consensus on which category of assessees would be governed by the Centre and which by states.

The finance ministers of states will now informally meet Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on November 20 to evolve a political consensus on the sticky issue. The next meeting of the GST Council, headed by Jaitley, is scheduled for November 24-25.