Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani has been appointed as Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST.
The empowered committee chairman's post fell vacant after Abdul Rahim Rather, the former finance minister of Jammu & Kashmir, quit following defeat of the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls in December.
The Chairman of the Empowered Committee has generally been from an opposition ruled state.
In December 2014, government introduced the long-pending GST Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha for roll-out of the new indirect regime from April 2016 subsuming various levies like entry tax and octroi.
Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet approved compensation to states for their revenue loss on account of phasing out of Central Sales Tax (CST). In current fiscal, Rs 11,000 crore would be given and the remaining amount in the subsequent two financial years.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is proposed to be rolled out from April 1, 2016.
With Agency Inputs
