15th Finance Commission submits its report for 2020-21 to President

The Finance Commission submitted its report for the financial year 2020-21 to President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday.

The Commission headed by N K Singh apprised the President of the recommendations contained therein, an official statement said.

The 15th Finance Commission was constituted by the President of India under Article 280 of the Constitution on November 27, 2017, to make recommendations for a period of five years from April 2020 to March 2025, it said.

The Commission had a wide ranging terms of reference contained in the Presidential Notification, it said.

"Thereafter, the Gazette Notification dated November 27, 2019 mandated the Commission to submit the report for the financial year 2020-21 by November 30, 2019, and thereafter the final report for the period April 2021 to March 2026 by October 30, 2020," it said.

Last month, the government extended the term of 15th Finance Commission, which is to decide on division of tax and other resources between the Centre and the states, by about one year to October 30, 2020.

The term of the commission was originally set to end in October 2019, but was extended by one month to November 30.

The extension of the term was given to enable the commission to examine various comparable estimates for financial projections in view of reforms and the new realities to finalise its recommendations for the period 2020-2026.