Bhatti bats for GST exemption on construction of sarkari schools

Hyderabad: Telangana government has demanded waiver of GST on the construction of government schools, exempt Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) form the GST purview and exemption of tax, penalty and interest on tax payers.

State Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka attended the 53rd GST Council meetingheld in New Delhi on Saturday and put a plethora of demands in the meeting chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Bhatti urged the Council to waive GST on construction of public schools. He stressed that such a waiver would enable States to allocate more resources to build additional schools and strengthen every citizen’s fundamental right to access to education. The deputy CM argued that the inclusion of ENA under GST would reduce the financial flexibility of States and lighten the tax burden on goods handled by the state governments. He supported the proposed law amendment related to ENA.

The Council discussed and supported a proposal to waive tax, penalty and interest levied on taxpayers for willful non-compliance, subject to certain conditions. The move aims to provide relief to taxpayers who have been penalised due to lack of awareness.

Bhatti also supported the request for early submission of a report by the Rate Rationalization Committee. The report further simplifies the GST rate structure and makes compliance easier.