New Delhi/ Bhubaneswar: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday fixed the turnover-based exemption limit from such levies at Rs 20 lakh for Odisha, informed State Finance minister Pradeep Kumar Amat. The threshold limit has been set at Rs 20 lakh for all states barring the North-Eastern region. However, according to Amat, the compensation on Central Sales Tax (CST) is yet to be finalized by the council.
“On the second day of the GST Council meet, mainly two issues were taken up for discussion which included draft modalities of the compensation and provision for cross empowerment to ensure single interface Under GST. The threshold limit has been finalized at Rs 20 lakh. Moreover, other issues were also taken up for discussion. Various states have given their suggestions which are under consideration,” said Odisha Finance minister Pradeep Amat.
However, the decision on fixing the actual tax rates and the finalisation of draft rules has been left for later.
Briefing the media after the two-day, maiden meeting of the apex decision-making body on the new indirect tax regime, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the council also decided that exemption for assessees in the northeastern region and hill states will be Rs 10 lakh.
The base year for compensation to states -- on the basis of which they will get a share of the GST revenue -- has been fixed as 2015-16, said the Council Chairman. "We have also decided that the compensation should be given at regular intervals to states."
The Finance Minister, who is also Chairman of the Council, said the jurisdiction over assessees with a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore and below will solely be with the states and for those above, it will be jointly with the central and state governments.
The council is scheduled to reconvene on September 30 and again from October 17-19.
"All existing cesses will be subsumed in GST," Jaitley said, even as officials added that the draft rules and the model laws could be taken up on September 30.
"We will try to finalise the rates and the slabs during our meeting on October 17, 18 and 19," said the Finance Minister on a matter that has widely divergent views among the states and the Centre.
(With IANS inputs)