Deadlock over dual control far from over

KOLKATA: The central system is unwilling to accept the consensus reached by the empowered committee of states finance ministers over the dual control, Amit Mitra, Bengal finance minister and chairman of the committee, told ET after a five-hour meeting termed as “inconclusive“ by GST Council chairman Arun Jaitley on Friday.

"At the empowered committee meeting, there was an overwhelming majority of all ministers on the issue of dual control. A consensus was built on the issue of not having dual control on a turnover below Rs 1.5 crore. We should uphold the consensus to maintain the spirit of federalism," Mitra said.

Pointing out that the main interest of the empowered committee has been to shield the interest of the small and medium enterprises, he said: "The formula was brought to protect the small businesses. We need to see that they are not harassed. And that is why it was recommended that dual control and cross-empowerment should be applicable for the businesses whose turnover is more than Rs 1.5 crore."

Union Finance Minister Jaitley, however, called for an informal meeting with the ministers only on November 20 to generate a consensus, Mitra said. The GST council meeting would be held on November 24-25.