Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 19: The State Government has set the general budget process into motion by calling for budget and planning meetings from second week of November even as it was yet to take a decision on implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the State as the Government wants its major conditions to be met before its implementation. The Centre wants all States to implement the GST from April 1 next.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the State Government has called for meetings with all State Government Departments to ascertain their requirements of budget and planning, which would start from November 14, exactly a week after Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Government, will resume its functioning in winter capital of the State after six months.
The meetings of planning and budget, which would be taken by Financial Commissioner, Planning and Development Department, BB Vyas and Finance Secretary, Navin K Choudhary respectively. The meetings would be held separately as both the Departments ascertain requirements of the Government wings for next financial year of 2017-18 on both accounts.
Sources said the meetings of Planning and Development and Finance Departments with heads of all Government departments will be followed by the meetings Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu will have with all stakeholders including different associations of trade and commerce etc.
The Government will take a call on presentation of budget in January or March next year after re-opening of the Civil Secretariat.
“The State Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will take a call on it,” sources said, adding the Government would go by the advice of the Finance Minister as presentation of budget was his prerogative.
Current financial year budget (2016-17) was presented by the Government in Srinagar, the summer capital of the State, in June this year. It was earlier scheduled to be presented in Jammu on January 18 but due to sudden death of then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the Government ceased to exist and the State remained under Governor’s rule from January 7 to April 4 till Mehbooba Mufti was elected as the new Chief Minister.
Observing that prospectus of early budget presentation in January were more as compared to March, sources, however, said that final decision would be taken by the Cabinet after the Finance Minister decides on budget presentation.
According to sources, the Government hasn’t taken final decision on implementation of the GST from April 1 next i.e. the next financial year of 2016-17. They said the Finance Minister has already laid down certain conditions, which it wants the Union Finance Ministry to fulfill before going ahead with implementation of the GST.
The State, sources said, wants its interests to be safeguarded in the GST. It has submitted a detailed note to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at the GST Council meeting mentioning in detail the issues it want to be addressed for implementation of the new tax regime.
In its presentation at the meeting of the GST Council, which is headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and has representatives of all States, it was said that the total impact of the proposed rate structure on Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation rate will be (-) 0.06 per cent.
Under the proposed GST rate structure, the inflation impact on constituents of CPI such as health services, fuel and lighting and clothing is estimated to be 0.56 per cent, 0.05 per cent and 0.23 per cent, respectively, while for transport it is estimated at (-) 0.65 per cent, education at (-) 0.08 per cent and housing at (-) 0.09 per cent. Total revenue collection under the proposed GST structure is estimated at Rs 8.72 lakh crore (based on 2015-16 estimates).
Sources said the Centre Government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which had described the GST as major revolutionary step, wants GST to be firmly in place from next financial year of 2017-18 for which all possible steps including regular meetings with the State were being held by Arun Jaitley.
Sources said the third round of deliberations in the GST Council ended in New Delhi, a day ahead of schedule, without a decision on rates structure. They added that the Council decided to discuss the rates structure in the next two meetings. These, it was decided, will take place on November 3 and 4, and on November 9.
Follow our WhatsApp channel