GST Council defers tax rate increase on textiles

Context: 

• The GST Council recently decided to temporarily roll back the increase in tax rate for the textiles sector at an emergency meeting.

About GST Council

• GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council  is a constitutional body under Article 279A. The Council makes recommendations to the Union and State Government on subjects  related to Goods and Service Taxes in the country. It  was introduced by the One Hundred and First Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016. 

• Constitution of the Council
  
  The GST council consists of the following members:
  The Union Finance Minister will be the Chairperson as a member, the Union Minister of State will be in charge of Revenue of Finance. The Minister in charge of finance or taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State government, as members.

Decision making in the GST Council

• Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax 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:
  (1) the vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one-third of the total votes cast.

(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.

The Indian Express Link