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The Telangana government is making last-minute efforts to address some concerns over the GST rollout on July 1. The new tax regime is likely to result in an additional burden of ₹19,200 crore on the state exchequer.
State Finance Minister Eatala Rajender, who held a detailed review meeting here today, ahead of the GST Council meeting to be held in Delhi on Friday, expressed concern over the Centre bringing irrigation projects under the purview of GST.
The government is keen on getting exemptions for flagship projects such as Mission Kakatiya and Mission Bhagiratha, and the two-bedroom housing scheme for the poor. All of them are pet projects of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
CM’s letterThe Chief Minister had earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley about the impact on Mission Kakatiya, and concerns raised by granite and beedi industries.
Rajender said clubbing beedi and cigarettes in same tax slab of 18 per cent would adversely impact the beedi workers.
The state had represented to the Union Finance Minister about its key concerns. Jaitley promised to look into some of the state’s concerns.
At the GST Council meeting in Delhi on Friday, the State Finance Minister will take up some of the issues raised by various sectors, including tax rates on entertainment, granite industry, and segments such as textile trade, furniture makers among others.
The state had highlighted at earlier GST Council meetings issues related to 35 items, of which seven have been resolved.
Impact on financesMaintaining that the state is geared for GST implementation, Rajender said it would leave a significant impact on the overall tax collection. A part of this could be bridged by increase in service tax collections, he said.
By July 5, the entire trading community in the state is expected to get registered on the GST portal. So far, more than 80 per cent of the traders have registered.
He cautioned traders against raising prices.
With the state's own tax revenues expected to be in the range of ₹36,000 crore, the minister expressed the confidence of implementing various ongoing welfare schemes without much difficulty.
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