Cabinet notifies constitution of GST Council

The Cabinet has cleared the process, formation and functioning of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which will decide on the rate of tax under the new indirect taxation regime.
The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the process, PTI said, citing sources.
The Council, to be headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising of Representative of all 29 states and two union territories, will have to be set up by November 11, the report added.
The GST Council will decide on the tax rate, cess and surcharges which are to be subsumed and also decide on the goods and services which would be exempted from the purview of the new indirect tax regime.
Read: 16 states ratify GST, Bill ready for presidential nod
The government has notified September 12, as the date from which the procedure for setting up of the GST Council will be initiated and which will be completed within 60 days.
The Cabinet also decided on the constitution of the GST Secretariat and the officers who will implement the decisions of the Council. While the Centre will have one-third vote, states together will have a two-third say. To adopt a resolution, three-fourth majority would be required.
President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the bill last week, paving the way for setting up of a GST Council.
The Bill was passed unanimously by the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha in August and the Government is running against time to meet the April 1 deadline for its implementation,Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said recently in an event.
“We have the months of September and October and parts of November to do that. So there is a lot of work to do and if you are able to successfully transact those issues, then in the winter session of Parliament the central legislations, with some drafts in public domain, will have to be brought in,” the minister had said.
Read: Running against time on GST: Finance Minister