Had opposed price hike at GST council meet, says Bengal finance minister
India Today
A day after the revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates came into effect, West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said she had opposed the price hike at the GST council meeting.
West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya on Tuesday said she had opposed the price hike at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) council meeting.
Her statement comes a day after the new GST rates, which were revised during the two-day GST council’s 47th meeting held last month in Chandigarh, came into effect.
She said she represented the state at the crucial GST council meeting, but her voice was not heard.
Also read: New GST rates: List of goods and services which are expensive now
She said the West Bengal government has been opposing the price hike decision every time.
Referring to the previous meetings, she said, “Bengal’s stand from the beginning was very clear, there is a Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted for rationalisation of the rate of tax and Bengal is a member there. I represented the state on November 20, 2021, when there was a meeting in Bangalore. I vehemently opposed the decision on the rate being changed or imposed on those things which directly hit people.”
The Bengal finance minister also said in the meeting it was decided to send the entire matter to the treatment committee. She said, “We do not have a report from the treatment committee. There was another fixed meeting which did not happen. A few days back, before the GST council meeting, another GOM was done virtually. There too, I raised an objection on behalf of West Bengal against the price hike. At the GST council meeting, we opposed the enhancement of the rate of tax. This has not been heard.”
