GST Council meet in Hyd today; anti-profiteering authorities to be set up

Hyderabad: Passing on tax benefits to consumers is the main point on the agenda of the GST Council meeting that will be held in Hyderabad on Saturday.

The meeting to be chaired by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley is significant as it is likely to finalise the modalities of setting up the national and state-level anti-profiteering authorities to enable consumers lodge complaints against traders and companies that are not passing on tax reduction benefits to consumers.

Besides, the TS government, which is hosting a GST Council meeting for the first time, has threatened to move the Supreme Court if it does not approve its demand to reduce the tax on work contracts of projects of public importance to five per cent.

The state’s major projects Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya, the 2BHK housing scheme and various power projects have become more expensive as a result of the new tax. Following stiff resistance from Telangana state and some other states, the GST Council in its previous meeting in August had agreed to reduce the tax on contracts to 12 per cent from 18 per cent. Orders in this regard are yet to be issued.

The TS government is not satisfied with this reduction and continues to demand five per cent GST on contracts, which existed in the previous VAT regime.

Finance minister Etela Rajender on Friday inspected arrangements for the meeting at HICC. The government will host a dinner for visiting dignitaries at Falaknuma Palace on Saturday. The Chief Minister, who has undergone eye surgery on Friday, is unlikely to attend the dinner.