Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 46th GST Council meeting which holds importance because it was held ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget for the year 2022-23 due on the 1st of February.
The 46th meeting of the central GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council is underway in Delhi. Nirmala Sitharaman has been holding a series of meetings of pre-budget consultations with the stakeholders. The meeting has also been graced with the presence of Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, the Union Ministers of State in the finance department. The GST meet also saw the finance ministers of all states and union territories and senior government officials in attendance.
The Union Budget of India for the year 2022-23 will be presented by Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister of India. This will make it the fourth-ever budget of the Narendra Modi-led government. The Union Budget for 2021-22 was presented orally for the first time due to the pandemic on February 1, 2021. The finance minister had also chaired the pre-budget meeting consultations with the finance ministers of all states and union territories in Delhi. These meetings were attended by the Union Ministers of State for Finance, Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, Finance Ministers, and some other senior ministers of the states and the union territories.
The officials reported that the finance ministers welcomed the attendees and talked about the importance of this meeting. She was thanked by the participants for financially supporting their respective states and union territories during the time which brought the worst out of everything. The participants were grateful for the enhanced borrowing limits, loans that were provided, and special assistance for capital expenses that were given to them.
It was reported that the decision to hike the rate on textiles from 5 percent to 12 percent earlier this year will be deferred amidst the heavy opposition it received from all states and UTs. Objections to the higher tax rate came in from states including West Bengal, Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and they also demanded that the hike rate should be put on hold for now. The hike in rate was to come into effect from January 1, 2022. This issue was raised in the meetings chaired by the Finance Ministers. Many Senior Ministers from various states have come out in opposition and have issued statements against the same.
They have spoken in the favour of the unorganized sector and micro small medium enterprises (MSMEs) who will take the brunt of the damage the hike is bound to cause.
The meeting on Thursday saw participants giving numerous suggestions to the Union Finance Minister. She said she will consider the suggestions given and assured them that the proposals will be examined. This is an important meeting in terms of the budget and after two years, the meet will finally happen in a way it is supposed to.
