Constitutional violation to not call GST Council meet, says Amit Mitra

Amit Mitra urged Nirmala Sitharaman to convene a GST Council meeting at the earliest

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Wednesday flagged the issue of “alarming” GST compensation shortfall due to the second Covid wave and urged his Union counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman to convene a GST Council meeting at the earliest, saying it was a constitutional violation to not hold the meeting for over six months.

 

Mitra said the goods and services tax (GST) compensation shortfall was expected to be much higher than the Rs 1.56 trillion estimated last year, indicating the need to rework the shortfall estimation and borrowing requirement.

 

In a letter to Sitharaman on Wednesday, Mitra called it “undoubtedly deeply distressing”.