The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is a constitutional body responsible for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to GST. The voting power in the GST Council is divided between the Central Government and the State Governments. Understanding the weightage of the votes is essential to comprehend how decisions are made.
According to Article 279A of the Indian Constitution, the GST Council is constituted as follows:
- The Union Finance Minister is the Chairperson.
- The Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance is a member.
- The Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State government is also a member.
The voting system in the GST Council is designed to ensure a balance between the vote of the central government and the state governments:
- The Central Government has a weightage of 1/3 of the total votes.
- The State Governments collectively have a weightage of 2/3 of the total votes.
For any decision to be passed in this council, it must receive at least 75% of the weighted votes of the members present and voting.
Thus, given the options for the weightage of the vote of the Central government, the correct answer is 1/3 of the total votes.
Therefore, the correct choice is: 1/3rd of the total votes.
Important Questions from Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- Which tax was introduced in July 2017 to replace multiple indirect taxes in India as part of fiscal reforms?
- In which of the following years was the Central Goods and Services Tax Act enacted?
- Who among the following acts as the ex-officio Secretary to the GST Council?
What has been kept under the purview of Goods and Services Tax (GST)?
What kind of a tax is GST?
