Kolkata: Amit Mitra writes to FM, says GST council decisions must be taken by consensus

KOLKATA: Amit Mitra, the principal chief adviser to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, has urged Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to resort to consensus and shun majoritarianism while taking decisions at the ongoing GST council meeting. Mitra cited a recent Supreme Court judgment in this regard.
In his letter, Mitra pointed to the Mohit Minerals (P) Ltd vs Union of India case where the court made important observations in respect of recommendations by the GST council.He said the court has observed that recommendations of the GST council are not binding on the Union and states.
The apex court noted that deletion of Article 279B and inclusion of Article 279 (1) by the Constitution Amendment 2016 indicate that Parliament intended for recommendations of the GST council to only have a persuasive value, particularly when interpreted along with the objective of the GST regime, to foster cooperative federalism.
“In the backdrop of this extremely significant observation of the apex court, it has become extremely important for the GST council to invariably arrive at a consensus for taking any decision. In fact, this has been the rich culture of GST council. The erstwhile chairperson of the GST council, Arun Jaitley, and its other distinguished members have always upheld the importance of consensus,” Mitra added.
Mitra said consensus was required not only for the GST council’s future credibility, but also to uphold the rich tradition of this august body.