In a ruling, a good way to have the most important implications on the GST framework and Centre-State economic relations, the Supreme Court of India on Thursday stated the pointers of the council aren’t binding on the Centre and State governments
The commentary accompanied a judgement over the applicability of Goods and Services Tax beneath neath the Reverse Charge Mechanism on transportation of imported items via the ocean route. The apex courtroom docket brushed off an appeal with the aid of the Centre towards an in advance Gujarat High Court judgement that stated that Integrated GST on ocean freight is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court held that GST Council’s pointers will most effectively have a persuasive value, including that the Parliament and national legislatures own identical powers to legislate on GST. Abhishek A Rastogi, a companion at Khaitan & Co, who argued on behalf of importers, stated there could be a realistic method to the provisions which can be the situation to judicial evaluate with the aid of using manner of assignment to the constitutionality of such provisions primarily based totally on GST Council pointer choices in the GST Council are taken through a majority of now no longer much less than three-fourths of the weighted votes solid. The Centre has one-1/3 weightage of the whole votes solid and all of the states taken collectively have two-thirds of the weightage.
In the remaining 5 years of GST, the Council has taken all choices on the premise of consensus, apart from the levy on lotteries, wherein vote casting passed off in December 2019. Abhishek A Rastogi, Partner, Khaitan & Co says GST Council’s pointers are unconstitutional and can’t be implemented. The process of vote casting withinside the GST Council stays intact. States having special GST prices will defeat the goal of GST and the states will need to debate in the event that they need to deviate from the harmonised device. The Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu Palanivel Thiaga Rajan welcomed the court’s observation, pronouncing it clarifies troubles that he had raised in the remaining year. He had stated the GST device and the Council feature with an all-encompassing mandate now no longer estimated withinside the Constitution of India. He stated the vesting of massive de-facto energy in our bodies now no longer immediately related with the GST Council, which includes the Tax Research Unit of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, GST Secretariat and the GST Network, is fraught with questions of constitutional legitimacy. What might the Supreme Court’s comments suggest for Centre-State family members going forward? Speaking to Business Standard, Jatin Arora, Partner, Phoenix Legal, says this could result in interpretational troubles with reference to states’ powers. Tamil Nadu government says maximum of the powers associated with levy of taxes relaxation with the Centre. It says the schedule set with the aid of using the Centre is observed usually in the GST Council. The SC ruling offers greater enamel to states to elevate their concerns. Arora says it’ll be worrisome if states legislate on GST topics out of doors of the GST Council. The Centre will need to be more accommodative of states’ troubles. Another prison professional says that yesterday’s ruling does now no longer extrade the manner wherein the GST Council functions. According to Rajat Bose, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, there’s no extrade in provisions associated with GST Council. The GST Council can planned on variations of opinion among states and centre and it is empowered to determine on the ones variations.
Meanwhile, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said the ruling is unlikely to materially impact the one-nation-one-tax regime as it is only a reiteration of the existing law that gives States the right to accept or reject the council’s recommendations – a power that
The states have also gained some bargaining power and can put forward their concerns before the GST Council more strongly.
