The Center has made a total loan of Rs 42,000 crore available to the states since October to compensate for the decrease in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue. The Finance Ministry gave this information on Monday.
The Finance Ministry said that a fresh installment of Rs 6,000 crore was released to the states on Monday. Of this, Rs 5,516.60 crore was released to 23 states and Rs 483.40 crore to three union territories Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry. In the statement issued by the Finance Ministry, there has been no reduction in revenue due to GST implementation in the remaining five states Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. The corona virus epidemic has severely affected the economy. Due to this the economic activity was effected due to the lockdown imposed, which has significantly reduced the revenue collection of the Center and the states. During the current financial year 1, in the revenue of the states in October, 2020 due to the implementation of GST by the central government. A special loan facility was introduced to compensate for the projected shortfall of Rs 10 lakh crore. Under this facility, the central government is taking loans from states and union territories and providing them. The center has so far taken loans in seven installments under this facility. The loan amount has been released to the states and union territories on October 23, November 2, November 9, November 23, December 1, December 7 and December 14, 2020.
Government gets big relief: GST collection crosses Rs 1 lakh crore in November
The ministry said that the amount released this week is the seventh installment of such fund. The loan taken this week is at an interest rate of 5.1348 percent. So far the government has availed a loan of Rs 42,000 crore through this special facility at an average interest rate of 4.7712 percent. In addition to this facility, the government has also allowed states to borrow up to 0.50 percent of their gross state domestic product (GSDP). This permission has been given to those states which have chosen the first option offered by the Center to meet GST compensation.
GSTN launches communication facility between taxpayers on its portal
The GST network said on Monday that it has started facilitating communication between taxpayers on its portal. GST Network (GSTN) said in a statement, the new facility will provide a platform for dialogue for taxpayers. Through this, the recipient / buyer can ask their supplier to upload a particular bill which has not been uploaded but it is necessary for the recipient to get input tax credit (ITC).
Now companies can tell their supplier about uploading bills on GSTN portal or any other deficiency. Apart from this, suppliers can send replies to their suppliers through this facility. Similarly, the supplier can also send information to the concerned recipient about uploading any documents in the supply details which have been filled in GSTR-1. GSTN said that whenever a taxpayer sends any information to another taxpayer, GSTN will also give his information through e-mail and SMS on mobile phone. This facility is expected to help taxpayers in matching bills.
