The Andhra Pradesh Government has called upon the Centre to initiate the process of implementation of goods and services tax regime by next fiscal (April 1, 2013).
Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, State Minister for Finance during a pre-budget meeting of the finance ministers said the involvement of States for preparation of the Union Budget for 2013-14 is an important initiative and strengthens cooperative fiscal federalism.
Referring to the alarming power situation in the country, he said the Financial Restructuring Plan for the revival of the health of distribution companies needs to be closely followed and implemented while also relaxing some norms, including interest rates.
He also felt that the liabilities taken over by the State Government under this restructuring plan may be kept outside the purview of fiscal responsibility and budget management provisions.
The State wanted relaxation in implementation of Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP).
According to him, while the replacement of State sales taxes by value-added tax (VAT) in 2005 heralded a significant step forward in the reform of domestic trade taxes, it would be appropriate to take this forward by implementation of GST from the next fiscal.
The Centre could extend funding for irrigation projects while declaring Pranahita and Polavaram projects as national projects, he said.