GST Council nod to calamity cess a precedent for other states: Kerala FM

He said the problem with GST was that it did not give states the flexibility to raise additional resources to address local problems such as natural calamities

The decision of the GST Council approving a levy of one per cent calamity cess for two years would help the state to raise around Rs 1,000 crore in two years and would set a precedent which might be helpful to other states also in future when the need arises, said Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac. He said the state is happy with the decisions taken in the 32nd GST Council meeting.

The state, which saw losses to the tune of around Rs 30,000 crore due to heavy floods in August last year, is expected to start rebuilding