FM Nirmala Sitharaman: GST exemplifies cooperative federalism, empowering states
Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) have reached pre-GST levels, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. Underlining the milestones achieved under the GST regime, Sitharaman said it is a myth that all GST collections are “pocketed by the Centre”, adding that GST contributes significantly to state revenues.
The statement by Sitharaman came on the day of her having administered the oath to Justice (Retd) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra as the President of the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT). Mishra’s appointment marks the beginning of the operationalisation of the GSTAT, a crucial body for resolving GST-related disputes that has come after a long gap of nearly seven years of rollout of the indirect tax regime in July 2017.
The monthly gross GST collections have been picking pace, recently crossing a landmark of Rs 2 lakh crore, as per the monthly data for April released on May 1 by the Finance Ministry.
