About GST Council

• Goods & Services Tax Council is a constitutional body under Article 279A of the amended Constitution, for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax. 
• The Council was introduced by the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.
• The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and other members are the Union State Minister of Revenue or Finance and Ministers in-charge of Finance or Taxation of all the States.

Mandate of GST Council

• The Goods and Services Tax Council shall make recommendations to the Union and the States on—
  • the taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the Union, the States and the local bodies which may be subsumed in the goods and services tax;
  • the goods and services that may be subjected to, or exempted from the goods and services tax;
  • the threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services may be exempted from goods and services tax;
  • the rates including floor rates with bands of goods and services tax;
  • the date on which the goods and services tax be levied on petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas and aviation turbine fuel.
• Quorum: One-half of the total number of Members of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall constitute the quorum at its meetings.
• Voting share: Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be taken at a meeting, by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely: —
  • the vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one-third of the total votes cast, and
  • the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast, in that meeting.
• No act or proceedings of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be invalid merely by reason of—
  • any vacancy in, or any defect in, the constitution of the Council; or
  • any defect in the appointment of a person as a Member of the Council; or
  • any procedural irregularity of the Council not affecting the merits of the case.
• Dispute adjudication: The Goods and Services Tax Council shall establish a mechanism to adjudicate any dispute
  • between the Government of India and one or more States; or
  • between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or more other States on the other side; or
  • between two or more States, arising out of the recommendations of the Council or implementation thereof.

Why in News?

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the GST Council will meet for the first time in more than seven-and-a-half months, on May 28.
• The Council, which is expected to meet every quarter, had last met in early October. While States had been urging a meeting of the Council over the past couple of months, the Centre had said it would be better to wait for the Assembly elections, including in large States like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, to conclude.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/business/gst-council-to-convene-on-may-28/article34568266.ece