West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Wednesday hit out at the Central government while raising the issue of Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation paid to States and demanded a review of the new tax regime.
Talking to reporters here after the GST Council meeting, Mitra said: "Why States were not compensated for four months -- August, September, October, and November? We have just received compensation for two months."
"Rs 42,000 crore was in the kitty of the Centre, but we were not paid. Finally, they paid Rs 35,000 crore after a delay of four months...A complete review of the GST process, GST network process, the capacity of escaping taxes...has to be undertaken," added Mitra.
"Even today people are filing the short form with no invoices. It is unheard of in the history of any country. We need to tighten many, many things. The States have given up rights of taxation in 27 major areas to have the GST. Why," he asked.
The Finance Minister of West Bengal said that there is "stagflation" in the country.
"There is stagflation, which means inflation along with stagnation. It is knocking at our door. This has never happened in the history of India. We are very concerned that the next budget will not be able to address this problem," he said.
After the GST Council meeting that voted for the first time since its constitution, Rajasthan Minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal said that the members voted in favour of a single rate on lotteries.
( With inputs from ANI )