Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government seeks help from Centre for GST devices

PATNA: The Bihar government, which has offered support to the Goods and Services Tax legislation, wants the Centre to financially help the state develop devices that would be required if the new tax system comes into force.

Bihar finance minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who is set to attend the July 26 meeting of the empowered committee of state finance ministers on GST to be held in New Delhi, may use the occasion to place the state’s demand.

Bihar has supported the GST in principle, he told ET. "Our chief minister Nitish Kumar has recently made it clear. Ab iski rup rekha kya hai, dekhenge. (We will now look into details of GST’s implementation)," he added. According to Siddiqui, Bihar is a consumer state and so is expected to gain from GST.

Siddiqui said the funding pattern of the central government has undergone a change, and Bihar is losing out because of this. He said the share of the state government in centrally sponsored scheme has increased. Recently, Bihar CM Kumar has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to change the existing funding pattern and enhance the Centrestate ratio up to 90:10 for Bihar and other backward states. To a question, Siddiqui said senior officials of his department have gone to New Delhi. "I am waiting for their return to know about the agenda of the July 26 meeting. I am not in a position to tell more in this matter right now."