Tamil Nadu Government Will Look Into The Division Of Fiscal Powers
Update: 2021-09-18 14:00 IST
Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (Photo/thehindu)
At the 45th meeting of the GST Council, Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said that the Tamil Nadu government is in the process of forming a council of prominent economists, legal luminaries, and scholars to enhance its knowledge and roles concerning the social negotiations between the Union government and the States in terms of the provision of fiscal powers.
In considerations of both complexity and technology, Mr. Rajan, who was present virtually at the meeting, said the responsibility of GST compliance has fallen disproportionately on small taxpayers. Because all text on the GSTN portal is solely in English, taxpayers, particularly small traders, have regularly experienced difficulty utilising their accounts, he added.
He stated that theywere also required to hire tax experts, which increased business compliance costs while also depriving them entire control over the filing of tax returns. He also explained that throughout the four years since the GST was implemented, no significant attempts have been made to improve service provision in Tamil.
Mr. Rajan questioned the 18 percent GST on coconut oil (being packed and sold in a unit quantity of less than 1,000 ml), which is defined as hair oil, referencing Item 8 of Annexure-I of the agenda.
He went on to say that, alongside Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, Tamil Nadu was one of the main suppliers of coconuts and coconut oil.