Even as the rolling out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) completed one year, Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera on Sunday said the State is still facing loss in various sectors after the implementation of GST.
Behera said a total of 1.38 lakh taxpayers in Odisha have migrated from VAT to GST and one lakh new tax payers have registered themselves. The State was earning nearly Rs 600 revenue from tax collected on sale of essential commodities.
But in compliance with the recommendations of the GST Council, Odisha exempted the tax and faced loss.
Behera further informed that the GST compensation received by Odisha for 2017-18, at a growth rate of 14 per cent over the protected revenue every year, is Rs 82 crore short than the estimated amount.
Despite this and the State Government’s demands, the Centre is collecting GST on handloom, handicrafts and tribal products, though the above products had been exempted from tax by the State Government. Various other demands of Odisha are still pending before the GST Council, he added.
The Minister also ruled out the possibility of bringing petrol and diesel under GST.
“GST Council has not received any agenda to bring petrol and diesel under GST. The Union Finance Minister has also clarified that there is no possibility of sending a proposal to bring petroleum products under the ambit of GST,” he said.
Even the NITI Aayog has protested the idea of bringing petrol and diesel under the purview of GST. The States whose financial autonomy will come to an end by implementation of GST on petroleum products can keep their viewpoints only after an agenda is placed near the GST Council, he added.