The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the GST Council’s recommendations are not binding on the federal government or the states.
The Supreme Court also stated that the Parliament and state legislatures have equal authority to legislate on the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and that it is up to the GST Council to provide appropriate advice.
According to a Live Law report, a bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud held that the Parliament intended for the GST Council’s recommendations to have persuasive value.
“GST council recommendations are the result of a collaborative process. It is not necessary for one of the federal units to always have a larger share “The operative portion of the judgement was read out by Justice Chandrachud.
“The Union and states have concurrent powers to legislate on GST, and the constitution does not include a repugnancy provision,” he added. “The GST council must work in harmony to achieve a workable solution.”
Article 279A of the Constitution does not begin with a non-obstante clause, and Article 246A does not include a repugnancy provision, according to the bench. The bench stated in a judgement that emphasised the importance of the principles of “cooperative federalism” that “Indian federalism is a dialogue in which state and centre always engage in a dialogue.”
