GST Council: Article 279A

• Article 279A of the Constitution empowers the President to constitute a joint forum of the Centre and States namely, Goods & Services Tax Council (GST Council).
• The provisions relating to GST Council came into force on 12th September, 2016. President constituted the GST Council on 15th September, 2016.
• The GST Council shall consist of the following members, namely: —

(a) the Union Finance Minister is the Chairperson;

(b) the Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance is the Member;

(c) the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government are the Members.

• The Members of the GST Council referred to clause (c) above shall, as soon as may be, choose one amongst themselves to be the Vice-Chairperson of the Council for such period as they may decide.
• The GST Council shall make recommendations to the Union and the States on—

(a) the taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the Union, the States and the local bodies which may be subsumed in the goods and services tax;

(b) the goods and services that may be subjected to, or exempted from the goods and services tax;

(c) model Goods and Services Tax Laws, principles of levy, apportionment of Goods and Services Tax levied on supplies in the course of inter-State trade or commerce under article 269A and the principles that govern the place of supply;

(d) the threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services may be exempted from goods and services tax;

(e) the rates including floor rates with bands of goods and services tax;

(f) any special rate or rates for a specified period, to raise additional resources during any natural calamity or disaster;

(g) special provision with respect to the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand [Such States are referred as Special Category States]; and

(h) any other matter relating to the goods and services tax, as the Council may decide.

• The GST Council shall recommend the date on which the goods and services tax be levied on petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas and aviation turbine fuel.
• While discharging the functions conferred by this article, the GST Council shall be guided by the need for a harmonised structure of goods and services tax and for the development of a harmonised national market for goods and services.
• One-half of the total number of Members of the GST Council shall constitute the quorum at its meetings.
• The GST Council shall determine the procedure in the performance of its functions.
• Every decision of the GST Council shall be taken at a meeting, by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely:
  1. the vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one-third of the total votes cast, and
  2. the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast, in that meeting.
• No act or proceedings of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be invalid merely by reason of—
  1. any vacancy in, or any defect in, the constitution of the Council; or
  2. any defect in the appointment of a person as a Member of the Council; or
  3. any procedural irregularity of the Council not affecting the merits of the case.
• The Goods and Services Tax Council shall establish a mechanism to adjudicate any dispute –
  1. between the Government of India and one or more States; or
  2. between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or more other States on the other side; or
  3. between two or more states, arising out of the recommendations of the Council or implementation thereof.