GST may cover fuel, power: Sushil Modi

Said electricity, real estate, stamp duty, and petroleum products should become part of the GST

The GST Council would consider imposing the goods and services tax on electricity, fuel and some other items, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi said in New Delhi. 

“Electricity, real estate, stamp duty, and petroleum products should become part of the GST. This will be our (GST Council’s) endeavour,” Modi said, at the annual meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. 

He added it would be difficult to set a deadline for this but it could be accomplished without amending the Constitution.

If GST were imposed on fuel, it would attract the highest tax slab and states would be free to levy a cess in order to protect their revenue, Modi pointed out.

He also said GST slabs could be lowered after tax collection stabilised. “The highest tax slab of 28 per cent could be brought down to 25 per cent and two tax slabs of 12 per cent and 18 per cent could be merged,” he added.

Speaking at the event, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said GST collections dipped in October because “production by MSMEs declined by almost 40 per cent”. He added compensation to states for revenue losses due to imposition of the GST stood at Rs 39,111 crore in the four months since July. 

Modi, who heads the group of state finance ministers for fixing issues with the GST Network, defended Infosys, which has designed its architecture and is responsible for running it. “We have hired the best company for this,” he pointed out, adding that only 30 per cent of the GST Network’s capacity had been utilised so far.

Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said GSTN should have briefed the council about preparedness. GSTN failed in this respect and glitches were being sorted out, he added.

“Give it another three to four months. If the government and the GST Council are as responsive as they have been, what we have in the making is a robust GST which works for business, the central government and the states,” he said.