New Delhi, Dec 21 () States are not in favour of increasing GST rates at a time when there is a consumption slowdown and it is not the right time to bring down the number of slabs under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Sushil Kumar Modi, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Convenor of Group of Ministers on IGST, said on Saturday.
There is no possibility of any change in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates till the revenue stabilises, Modi said while speaking on the theme 'India: Roadmap to a USD 5 trillion economy' at FICCI's 92nd Annual Convention here.
"I want to assure you that not a single state... (and) the union government is ready to raise the tax rates," he said.
"At a time when the economy is in a slowdown, if you cannot cut the tax rate to boost consumption, do not increase the rates too. At these times you cut the duties and tax rates, and not increase them," Modi said.
On the chances of any reduction in GST rates, he said, "Till the time GST revenue does not stabilise, we cannot think of decreasing the tax rates. In fact, there is no possibility of any change in slabs and tax rates, hike or cut, in the near future."
There have been a shortfall in GST revenue collections against the projections. It crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark after a gap of three months in November with the revenue growing by 6 per cent to Rs 1.03 lakh crore during the month.
The collection was Rs 95,380 crore in October.
Modi also informed that now onwards the GST Council has decided to consider any change in tax rates only once in a year and rather than doing so in each and every meeting.
The latest meeting of the GST Council took place earlier this week, where the government fixed a uniform tax rate of 28 per cent on both state and private lotteries, which is to come to effect from March 2020.
In the previous various meetings of the GST Council, the government cut the rates on various services and goods, amidst GST collections remaining below expectations, with an aim to boost demand.
He also said that the time is not right to bring down the number of slabs under GST from the current five (0, 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cents) to 3 slabs.
Modi, who was the Finance Minister of Bihar when value-added tax (VAT) was administered in the country, said he is closely watching the execution of GST and enriching the process with learnings from eight different countries.
Compared to the pre-GST period, 99 per cent of the goods and services have less taxes levied on them post-GST, he said. 
Fake invoicing has become a major issue and the government is looking for ways to check the menace, Modi said. KPM MKJ

No possibility of any change in GST slabs, rates until revenue stabilises: Sushil Modi

Patna, Apr 12 () The Bihar government has reached out and provided relief to over 5 lakh distressed residents of the state stranded in Delhi and other parts of the country amid the nationwide lockdown prompted by the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said here on Sunday. The migrants from the state have been provided shelter, meals and dry rations to help them cope with the crisis situation, since the announcement of the lockdown on March 24, the official said. Heartbreaking images of jobless labourers and marginal workers walking back home, after suspension of transport services, were splashed on all TV channels and social media platforms, following the imposition of the nationwide lockdown. Some of them were grounded midway by the administration in other states. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had appealed to them to stay put wherever they were and promised that his government would provide necessary assistance to them. Kumar, who had last Monday launched a pioneering scheme to provide special assistance of Rs 1,000 each to the residents of Bihar stranded outside, seeks daily feedback about relief distribution, the senior official said. A sum of Rs 10.35 crore was transferred on the inaugural day of the programme to the accounts of 1,03,579 people under the direct benefit transfer scheme, he said. Of them, 7,281 hailed from Saran district, followed by 6,821 from Muzaffarpur, 6,792 from Madhubani, 6,569 from East Champaran, 6,348 from Sitamarhi and 5,897 from Siwan. Pratyaya Amrit, Principal Secretary, state Disaster Management Department, said at least 47 relief centres, funded by the state, are operating in far-off places, including Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Sikkim. These centres are being run by Bihar Foundation chapters and their affiliated organisations, he told . The Bihar Foundation is a forum for the state's diaspora which has Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its patron and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi as its chairman. A sum of Rs 5 crore has been given to the foundation from the chief minister's relief fund, Amrit noted. A statement issued by the disaster management department said, "The number of beneficiaries for today stands at 53,849, and the cumulative total since the start of the programme on March 28 is at 5,26,341." Amrit said 30 staffers of his department formed a part of a task force, which man helpline numbers round-the-clock to establish contact with those stuck in other states and guide them on how to avail the facilities provided by the administration. A crisis management group headed by Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar meets every day to take stock of the situation, he added. Official sources said a total of 2,84,674 applications have been received by the government from the stranded people. Relief was being doled out to them following verification. Of the 2,84,674 applications, 55,264 were from Delhi, followed by 41,050 from Haryana, 30,576 from Maharashtra, 25,638 from Gujarat, 23,832 from Uttar Pradesh, 15,596 from Punjab, 15,428 from Tamil Nadu and 9,527 from West Bengal. Bihar has so far reported 64 COVID-19 cases, and one death. SNS RMS IJT

Bihar govt reaches out to residents stranded outside state amid nationwide lockdown

<ul><li>There will be a total lockdown in Bihar from July 16-31 to contain the spread of COVID-19. </li><li>Essential services allowed. </li><li>Commercial, private and govt establishments to remain closed. </li><li>Check the full guidelines for lockdown in Bihar. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Visit Business Insider for the latest news and updates.</a> </li></ul>There will be a total lockdown in Bihar from July 16-31 to contain the spread of COVID-19, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday announced. Modi said the 15-day lockdown will remain in force at all municipal, district, sub divisional and block headquarters level. What’s allowed? <ul><li>Essential services allowed.</li><li>Farming and construction-related activities allowed.</li><li>Hospitals and all related medical establishments will continue to remain functional. The transportation for all medical personnel nurses, Para-medical staff, other hospital support services are permitted. This provision will also apply to veterinary services and establishments also.</li></ul>What’s closed but is functional in certain cases? <ul><li>Offices of the Government of India, its Autonomous Subordinate Offices and Public Corporation shall remain closed</li></ul>Exceptions: Defence, central armed police forces, treasury. public utilities (including petroleum, CNG, LPG, PNG) disaster management. power generation and transmission units, post offices. National informatics Centre. Early warning agencies <ul><li>Offices of the State Government, its Autonomous Bodies, Corporation, etc. stall remain closed.</li></ul>Exceptions: a) Police, Home Guards, Civil Defense, Fire and Emergency services, Disaster Management, Elections and Prisons. b) District administration and Treasury along with IT services’ Video Conferencing support from BELTRON. C) Electricity, water supply, sanitation, Health, Food and Civil Supplies, Water Resources, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry. d) Municipal bodies e) Forest officer Staff and workers required to operate and maintain 200, nurseries, parks. plantation, firefighting in forests, wildlife rescue including handling human-wildlife conflicts, watering plantations, Patrolling and protection of sanctuaries including tiger reserves, operation of pollution monitoring stations and the corresponding field and headquarter offices. f) Offices of Social Welfare – Staff and workers required (i) to operate and maintain child care institutions under Juvenile Justice Act, old age homes, homes for women, destitute and persons with disability (ii) to pay food security allowances under National Security Act {iii} to pay: social security pensions and the corresponding field and headquarter offices. <ul><li>Commercial and private establishments shall be closed down.</li></ul>Exceptions: a) Shops, including ration shops (under PDS), dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetable, dairy and milk booth, meat and fish, animal fodder, agriculture inputs. However, authorities are encouraged to facilitate home delivery. b)Banks, insurance offices and ATM which include all bank related subsidiaries offices like Cash management, IT services etc. c) Print and electronic media. d) Telecommunications, internet services, broadcasting and cable services e) E-commerce (All kinds of goods) f) Petrol pumps, LPG and gas retail and storage outlets. g) Hospitality services including Hotels/Motels/Lodged, Restaurants, Dhabas and eateries will be allowed to open with delivery/take away services only. <ul><li>All transport services will be suspended.</li></ul>Exceptions: a) Railways, Air and Rail transport will remain functional. b) Taxies, auto-rickshaws will be permitted across Bihar c) Private vehicles will be allowed across Bihar for permitted activities only d) All essential service providers will be allowed to commute from home to workplace. What’s completely closed? <ul><li>Places of worship to remain closed.</li><li>Commercial, private and govt establishments to remain closed.</li></ul> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-may-put-4-billion-into-indias-reliance-jio-months-after-facebook-invested-5-7-billion/articleshow/76957941.cms">Google may put $4 billion into India's Reliance Jio, months after Facebook invested $5.7 billion</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-next-goal-seems-to-be-the-retail-king-of-india/articleshow/76953716.cms">Mukesh Ambani’s next goal seems to be the ‘retail king of India’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/mukesh-ambani-is-now-richer-than-elon-musk-and-google-founders-larry-page-and-sergey-brin/articleshow/76955217.cms">Mukesh Ambani’s $72 billion fortune makes him richer than Elon Musk and Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin</a>

Lockdown again in Bihar from July 16: What’s allowed and What’s not during lockdown

Patna, Feb 1 () Terming the Union Budget "directionless", the opposition RJD-led mahagathbandhan in Bihar alleged on Saturday that it did not have any words on special package for the state or for the common man. 
Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav termed the Centre's budget "directionless" and alleged that it did not mention a word on providing employment opportunities to youths and thus will bring recession.
"The #Budget2020 proves that government is clueless on revenue and employment generation, wealth creation &amp; it's distribution!," Yadav asserted.
"In this budget there are no words on special package, no new initiatives or projects for Bihar. We anticipated a lot for our state since there is a double engine government at helms. This #Budget2020 is a reflection of discriminatory intent of the Modi government towards Bihar," Yadav said in a release.
The Union Budget, presented in Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will reduce spending power of the common man and will increase disparity, he said, adding that subsidies are getting reduced. 
Farmers and the common man are equally unhappy with the budget, the RJD's heir apparent alleged.
"The central government is selling other public sector undertakings on the lines of BSNL, Air India to its favourite capitalists at throwaway prices just to make money for election expenditure," Yadav alleged.
Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi also termed the Union Budget "directionless", anti-poor and anti-youth and alleged that it will not be beneficial for anyone except the capitalists.
Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) president Jitan Ram Manjhi described the Union Budget 2020-21 as a "routine" but "disappointing, visionless and directionless" and said it has not talked about anything concrete to deal with the problems of unemployment, price rise and poverty.
"There is nothing in the budget for poor people...It has not said anything for providing common education for all...It has neither talked anything concrete to deal with the problems of unemployment, price rise nor took any measure to eradicate poverty," Manjhi said.
Former union minister Upendra Kushwaha also criticised the Union Budget 2020-21, saying it is meant for rich people, middlemen and corporate houses.
"#Budget2020 is meant for rich people, middlemen and corporate houses. Problems of unemployment, poverty and hunger will aggravate further with the sale of government undertakings and privatisation. The issues of providing quality education, healthcare facilities at ground level and improving the farmers' lot have not found mention in the budget," he tweeted.
The budget has disappointed the people of Bihar as it does not contain anything for the state which its people were expecting from the NDA's double engine government, Kushwaha alleged. 
The BJP, which is the alliance partner of the JD(U) along with the LJP in Bihar's NDA, defended the budget saying the opposition parties are unnecessarily making hue and cry over it and they should take tuition from Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi to understand it.
"They (opposition parties) need to understand the whole budget on a positive note rather than propagating a cynical approach," Bihar BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said.
 "I would request opposition leaders in Bihar to find out time and take tuition from Deputy CM Sushil Modi ji, who is holding the charge of finance minister, to understand the economics of the state which has registered 13.2 GDP to remove the Bimaru tag," he added. AR KJ
KJ

Union Budget contains nothing for Bihar, common man: Tejashwi

Patna, May 11 () The migrants returning home from other states constituted three-fourths of the 200 new coronavirus cases detected in Bihar last week, a top official told Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday.Principal Secretary, Health, Sanjay Kumar was briefing the chief minister at a high-level meeting chaired by the latter where he said the number of people, coming from outside, who have tested positive between May 4 and May 10 was 150.The states tally stood at 707 on Sunday, a jump of more than 200 since a week before. Over 100 people tested positive over the weekend.The principal secretary said the maximum number of 41 coronavirus-infected people have come from Delhi, followed by Maharashtra (36), Gujarat (33), Telangana (10) and Haryana (03). The remaining have come from other parts of the country.Migrant workers, students and pilgrims -- stuck in far-off places because of the nationwide lockdown -- have begun to come back in droves by special trains and also by road, on hired vehicles, following revised guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry allowing the same.Over one lakh residents of Bihar stranded outside due to imposition of coronavirus-triggered lockdown since March 25 have returned to the state so far.The issue of return of migrant workers and students had for long been a bone of contention between the government and the opposition in Bihar.Initially wary of such mass travel out of fear that it could lead to a steep rise in cases, the state government had frowned upon students from Kota being brought back to Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh by buses.The opposition, however, accused the ruling dispensation of insensitivity towards its own people, recounting the strong disapproval from leaders of the ruling JD(U) to return of migrants from Delhi-NCR soon after the lockdown was clamped.Later, the government agreed to have trains reaching Bihar carrying people stranded elsewhere, bearing the cost of travel for students and promising full reimbursement with an additional assistance of Rs500 each to migrant workers once they completed the mandatory 21-day quarantine.The principal secretary also informed the chief minister that as of now the state could accommodate 3.75 lakh people at block-level quarantine centres while an additional 2.42 lakh could be lodged at those at the Panchayats.He also said in view of the influx that may continue for some time to come, efforts were being made to increase the number of quarantine centres and enhance the capacity of testing centres.Random testing of those coming to Bihar from areas classified as a red zone has begun and a move was afoot to ensure that testing centres were set up at the district level, he added.Taking a grim note of the situation, the chief minister said Bihar was not getting enough testing kits but efforts would be made to ensure adequate supply since it had become necessary in view of the continuing influx.He also issued instructions to officials to coordinate with Railways and governments of other states to ensure that arrangements could be in place within seven days for all those who desired a journey back home.He also ordered that to ramp up corona prevention measures at village panchayat levels, each family be provided with four masks each besides a soap by the government.Taking note of the fact that a sizeable portion of those coming back comprised migrant labourers, the chief minister reiterated the need for their skill survey on completion of the quarantine period so that they could be gainfully employed within the state once fit to resume work.The meeting was also attended, among others, by Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar and Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey. AR NAC SNS ABHABH

Returnee migrants form bulk of spiked Covid patients during May 04-10: official tells Nitish

Patna, Apr 16 () The Bihar government has reached out to at least 14.5 lakh migrants stranded in Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of the country, amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, and provided them meals, dry ration and otheressential items, officials here said.The state government has also been doling out a special assistance of Rs 1,000 to distressed migrant workers after verification through the Direct Benefit Transfer system.Two days after a large number of labourers, many of them from the state, had gathered at the Bandra station in Mumbai, heeding rumours that arrangements were being made to send them home, the Bihar government took up the matter with Maharashtra, while also making efforts to establish contact with the anguished workers, Bihar Minister Sanjay Jha told on Thursday."The Bihar chief secretary spoke to his Maharashtra counterpart on the same day and sought help for the stranded migrants there," he said.Principal Secretary, Bihar State Disaster Management Department, Pratyaya Amrit, said a total of 14.56 lakh migrants have been provided relief so far in camps set up for the purpose in Delhi and Mumbai, and states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal.The state government is supplementing the efforts of the local administration at these places, Amrit said.Applications for special assistance have poured in from at least eight states, including Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and Delhi.As part of the special assistance programme, launched by the government on April 6, about Rs 8 lakh has been debiteddirectly in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, he said."In accordance with the instructions of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, we are trying to reach out to every single person who is contacting us over helpline numbers atthe CM's office, the disaster management department or the Bihar Resident Commissioner office in Delhi," Amrit said.Heart-wrenching images of jobless labourers and marginal workers walking back home, after suspension of transport services, were splashed on all TV channels andsocial media platforms, following the imposition of the nationwide lockdown in March end. Some of them were groundedmidway by the administration in other states.The chief minister had appealed to them to stay put wherever they were and promised that his government wouldprovide necessary assistance to them.The April 14 incident in Mumbai further laid bare the woes of the migrants, many of whom have lost daily wage jobs.Amrit, whose department is coordinating relief operations, said 14 camps are functioning in Mumbai itself.He also said that the government-funded relief operations in far-off places, including Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Sikkim, are being carried out withthe help of the Bihar Foundation's chapters and their affiliated organisations.The Bihar Foundation -- a forum for the state's diaspora -- has Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who also head the JD(U), as its patron and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi as its chairman.Jha, a close associate of Kumar, said the government has taken stock of the situation in the relief camps of Mumbaiand elsewhere, after Tuesday's unfortunate incident in Mumbai.At several places the workers are not receiving help from local authorities, he stated."We, at the party level, along with officials and their personal contacts, are trying to redress their problems," the state water resources minister said. In a scathing attack on opposition RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for trying to "gain political mileage out of the Mumbaiepisode" Jha, who is also JD(U) general secretary and the party in-charge of Delhi, said, "It does not behove a personto make a political statement, when everybody else was risingabove politics to fight the danger posed by the deadly virus."Tejashwi had criticised the Nitish Kumar governmentover the poor plight of stranded migrants following the April14 incident.The state minister took a swipe at RJD heir apparent,saying "Why is he not with the people of Bihar in this time ofneed instead of registering his presence through tweets fromDelhi?"In the national capital, around 20,000 people areprovided lunch and dinner, maintaining social distancingnorms, in ten camps set up in migrant-dominated localities ofBadarpur, Lakshmi Nagar and Palam among other places.Apart from the state government and the BiharFoundation, many organisations in Mumbai, have come forward tohelp the migrants left in the lurch due to the COVID-19outbreak.Pratibha Nalin Gramin Mahila Vikas Charitable Trust inMumbai has distributed dry ration including rice, pulse salt,sugar, cooking oil, assorted spices, besides potato and onion,to the poor in several parts of Mumbai.Nalin Pandey, who heads the trust, said thebeneficiaries were mostly from Bihar, Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh."A needy is a needy... Our volunteers do notdiscriminate among people on the basis of caste, religion orregion during crisis," Pandey added. SNSRMS04161842 ANBANB

COVID-19 lockdown: Bihar intensifies outreach programme for stranded migrants in other states

<ul><li>Following the <keyword id="28504" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala">Kerala</keyword> <keyword id="48088" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="floods">floods</keyword> in late August, it was found that the National <keyword id="41418" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Disaster">Disaster</keyword> Relief Fund (NDRF) was insufficiently capitalised to finance relief efforts. </li><li>In light of this, the Indian government has instituted a panel, comprising several state finance ministers, to assess the feasibility of introducing a “natural disaster tax” under the <keyword id="6354679" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="gst">GST</keyword> regime. </li><li>It remains to be seen whether the <keyword id="6386887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cess">cess</keyword> would be a state-level or national-level <keyword id="45031" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tax">tax</keyword> and whether it would imposed on a specific set of items or all items. A questionnaire will be sent to all states to get their views on the same. </li></ul>In the aftermath of the Kerala floods in late August, in which close to 500 people died and the damages were estimated to be around ₹200 billion, a major criticism was levied at the central government’s slow release of aid funds. It was found that the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) were insufficiently capitalised. In addition, the process of applying for and receiving aid from the corpus fund is extremely <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/flood-ravaged-kerala-s-wait-for-full-central-aid-package-could-be-long-118082700019_1.html">time-consuming</a>. The NDRF is funded by a “National Calamity Contingent Duty” on tobacco products and similar items. However, after the imposition of GST last year, the contributions to the fund have been declining. In light of this, the Indian government has instituted a panel, comprising several state finance ministers, to assess the feasibility of introducing a “natural disaster tax” under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The panel, which is led by Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, is set to consult India’s attorney general, K. K. Venugopal, on the legal implications of levying a disaster tax to fund the recovery efforts of states that have been struck by natural disasters. Under the GST Act, states are allowed to charge a cess in the event that they suffer losses of revenue due to the implementation of the GST regime. A disaster cess would require the approval of an apex court. The GST Council decided to form the panel <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/gst-council-meets-to-consider-new-tax-for-kerala-flood-future-calamities-1923718">at the end of September </a>following a proposal from the government of Kerala to impose an additional 10% cess on specific goods sold in the state so as to fund reconstruction and rehabilitation. At the time, the central government said that the Kerala’s proposal would be difficult to implement given the absence of any tax credits on cesses. It remains to be seen whether the cess would be a state-level or national-level tax and whether it would imposed on a specific set of items or all items. A national-level tax under the GST regime seems more likely after the panel recognised the possibility that residents of Kerala would opt for large purchases outside the state so as to avoid paying the additional cess. A questionnaire will be sent to all states so as to establish a majority consensus on the above issues. The panel’s next meeting will be in November.

India is mulling the introduction of a “natural disaster tax” to fund relief efforts

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48015200.cms" /> <keyword id="420947" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bihar-chief-minister-Nitish-Kumar">Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar</keyword> is getting into full poll mode and is leaving no stone unturned to woo voters. Although Kumar could not develop Bihar like Gujarat or Kerala, he is planning to implement one thing and that is liquor ban. 
 
In the run-up to the polls, slated in the end of the year, Kumar announced that he would ban booze in the state, if voted back again. 
“There will be prohibition in the state if I am voted to power again," Kumar said during a public gathering in Patna. 
 
The announcement was cheered by women and women's organisations, who have been demanding full prohibition, complaining that the state's liberal excise policy has led to increase in liquor vends in the state. 
 
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed it as a poll plank. 
 
"Why should he wait for three months to implement prohibition? It will take only a few minutes to enforce it," BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi told Economic Times. 
 
However, he was unable to give a strong response when asked whether the BJP would implement liquor ban in the state. 
 
"It is not a question of what our official stand is, the situation varies from one state to another, and Gujarat happens to be the only state where there is total prohibition. Nitish Kumar is only enacting drama by promising prohibition. If he has the guts, let him implement prohibition now and BJP will wholeheartedly support such a move," Modi told ET. 
 
In 1977, the then Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur had banned liquor but alcohol returned after 18 months when Ram Sunder Das succeeded from Thakur. 
 Meanwhile, <keyword id="18656" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Lalu-Prasad-Yadav">Lalu Prasad Yadav</keyword> supported Kumar’s announcement. "RJD will welcome any decision which the Nitish government takes in the interest of the people. RJD is of the view that the families of poor people suffer the most on account of alcohol consumption," national spokesperson Manoj Jha told ET. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

You Searched For "sushil kumar modi" and got 8 results