Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a press conference on Monday night that people should ask the state governments why some of them have not cut fuel rates. Why have some states not reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel even after the Center recently cut excise duty on consumer fuels? He said that the central government has already appealed to the states and now people should ask the parties for which they voted. "Petrol and diesel cannot be included in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) unless the GST Council fixes the rate for their inclusion," the Finance Minister said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that the Center will release an amount of Rs 95,082 crore to states as their tax share this month, which will also include an advance instalment, to help them increase their capital expenditure.
Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters after a meeting with the Chief Ministers and Finance Ministers of the states that this time the amount given to the states from the Center as a share of the collected tax revenue will be doubled. The reason for this is that the states had requested the Center that getting one month's advance payment would help them in capital expenditure. Sitharaman said, "I have asked the Finance Secretary that instead of giving the normal amount of Rs 47,541 crore to the states' share, they should also be given one month advance installment on November 22. In this way, Rs 95,082 crore will be released to the states on that day.
He said that by getting one month's tax share in advance, the states will have additional funds for capital expenditure which they can use to build the infrastructure base.
Finance Secretary TV Somanathan said that at present 41 per cent of the collected tax is given to the states in 14 installments and the states also have an estimate about their cash inward. Somanathan said it would be an advance payment and any adjustments would be made in March.
In this meeting with Sitharaman, 15 Chief Ministers, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and the Deputy Chief Ministers of three states attended. Other states were represented by their finance ministers.
Sitharaman said, "This meeting has taken place in the context of the strengthening of economic growth after the second wave of Kovid-19. However, this is also the time to look at ways to sustain growth and take it to double digits. .
The Union Finance Minister said that in the recently launched National Monetization Pipeline Scheme, only the assets of the central government have been kept and the assets of the states have been kept out of its purview. However, he said that states also have many such assets which can be monetised. The capital generated from this can be used for the construction of new infrastructure and in priority social sectors.
According to an official statement issued after the meeting, the Finance Minister requested the states to help in making India the fastest growing economy in the coming years, saying that this can be done by increasing the attractiveness of investment and by taking steps to ensure ease of doing business. Is. In the meeting, many suggestions were given from the states to increase investment. In this, it is important to create a transparent system for investment promotion.
