Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the issue of GST arrears was not restricted to Tamil Nadu alone, and was being faced by all States. The Central government was working towards settling the dues, she added.
The Tamil Nadu government has consistently raised the issue. During a pre-Budget meeting, the State’s Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam had pointed out that the Centre was yet to disburse the Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) arrears to T.N. for 2017-18, amounting to ₹4,073 crore.
Responding to a query on the GST arrears to Tamil Nadu, Ms. Sitharaman said no State was being sidelined, and the arrears will be paid in two instalments, as announced in the Budget. The government was taking various steps to plug loopholes in GST collections, with a particular focus on preventing people from misusing or gaming the system. On the issue of bringing petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST, Ms. Sitharaman said the States should first arrive at a consensus on the matter. Once that is achieved, an amendment will be introduced to the GST law, she said.
On the announcement made in the Budget that Adichanallur will be developed as an iconic archaeological site, and why no mention was made about Keezhadi, she said, “We have not announced the [development of] Adichanallur site on our own. We have had consultations with State governments before making the announcement. The State government is already working on developing the Keezhadi site.”
Goal of 8% growth
Earlier, during an interaction with economists, industry leaders and representatives of various trade bodies, she said the government was working towards the goal of 8% growth, and the various announcements made in the Budget and the initiatives implemented by the Centre will help achieve the goal.
If the banks were denying loans without reason to MSMEs, the affected firms could send their complaints by mail to a special centre, which will be announced soon, she said.
Importers who were finding it difficult to get clearances for goods at various ports due to non-arrival of documents because of the coronavirus outbreak in China could approach the Finance Ministry for redressal of their grievances, Ms. Sitharaman said.
