With the cloud over the rate structure for the goods and services tax (GST) still prevailing, the empowered committee of state finance ministers has roped in the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) to help estimate the taxpayer base for GST. Once the taxpayer base is established, the committee can arrive at revenue-neutral rates by extrapolating the revenue targets.
Asim Dasgupta, chairman of the empowered committee of state finance ministers, met officials from the NSSO and the finance ministry on Monday to discuss the issue. ?This was an internal meeting with the finance ministry and NSSO officials to discuss the goods and services tax,? Dasgupta told FE.
Officials said the meeting focused on finalising the methodology for calculating revenue-neutral rates. This is the second time in a month that Dasgupta has met finance ministry officials on the issue.
GST is expected to have a dual structure, with multiple rates on goods at both the central and state levels. Officials said the two rates being considered are 8-10% for the lower slab and 16-18% for the higher slab. In addition, states will levy a 1% tax on precious metals. The GST is expected to have a threshold of an annual turnover of Rs 10 lakh.
In the absence of a consensus on the rate structure, the empowered committee of state finance ministers has postponed its meeting with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to November 10. The committee was scheduled to meet Mukherjee on Tuesday to discuss the final roadmap for the levy. Now, state finance ministers will meet on October 30 to finetune the GST model and review the draft paper.
While Dasgupta refused to comment on the issue, officials said the meeting was postponed as there is still no consensus on GST and the roadmap has not yet been finalised. ?There are still a lot of issues in GST that have to be decided, apart from the ongoing electoral process in a few states. Therefore, the committee has decided to postpone meeting with finance minister to next month,? an official said.