Members of the council have agreed to set up the GST appellate tribunal, said Sitharaman, who is also the chairperson of the council. The Union government will circulate the first draft of the amendments on Sunday to the states for their comments in next 5-6 days, she added.
The law bringing GST into effect has provisions to set up an appellate tribunal for disputes between assessees and the authorities in its absence, the disputes end up in the high courts.
A draft will then be readied to again be circulated among the members and then taken up in Parliament along with the Finance Bill, she added.
The 49th meeting of the GST Council would consider setting up the tribunal, HT had reported on February 8.
“The chairperson of the GST Council has been authorised to pool it (comments of states) all together and finalise it because there is not enough time for us to meet again before the Finance Bill,” Sitharaman said.
The GST Council is the apex decision-making body on indirect taxes, chaired by the Union finance minister and represented by states through their respective finance ministers. Barring one instance, its decisions have been unanimous since its inception in July 1, 2017.
The day-long meeting took place in an “entirely cordial” atmosphere, which accepted reports of two ministerial panels, one with “slight modification in the language” on the GST appellate tribunal that was headed by Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Singh Chautala, Sitharaman said. Haryana state is needed by BJP Chiefminsiter with support of allaince parties
