Minister Harish to Finance Minister
PNS|Hyderabad
State Finance and Health Minister T. Harish Rao attended the 50th GST Council meeting chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday.
He spoke about the issue of payment of IGST funds due to Telangana and to other states should be resolved.
“I have been asking for a long time about IGST funds, but I have not been able to get it. For example, a taxpayer from Maharashtra owes Rs 82 crore to Telangana. The taxpayer also accepted the same. But he clarified that he will pay the refund as soon as he gets it. But it remains pending. This was raised in the 47th GST Council meeting itself. It was assured that a committee consisting of officers would be formed. But it did not materialize,” Harish said.
He said that since no action has been taken in this regard, a team of officers or a group of ministers should be set up as promised to resolve such issues.
The Union Finance Minister responded positively to this proposal. As discussed in the 47th GST Council meeting, it was announced that a committee consisting of officers will be constituted.
Harish also requested funds as per Section 94(2) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014.
He said that Rs 450 crore per year was given for the years 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21. Funds have not been sanctioned to Telangana for the financial years 2014-15, 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Therefore, I request the Centre to grant funds under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act for developing the backward districts of Telangana, he added.
Meanwhile, the GST Council agreed on Tuesday to levy a 28 per cent tax on online gaming, casinos and horse racing and that the tax would be levied on the full face value.
The Council also approved the exemption of GST on the imported cancer drug Dinutuximab and the Food for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP) used for the treatment of rare diseases.
The Union FM said that changes will be made in GST rules stating that these three supplies are not actionable claims.
