Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 17 said that the compensation cess collection saw a dip in December, which led to the delay in handing out
GST compensation to the states.
"We should clear it (GST compensation due to the states) in two installments from the surplus collected in the last two years," said Sitharaman.
Speaking at a press briefing in Bengaluru, Sitharaman also said that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been actively engaging with telecom companies after the order issued by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on February 16 rejected Vodafone Idea's proposal to pay Rs 2,500 crore by the end of the day and Rs 1,000 crore by February 21 against Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues, while also refusing its plea that no coercive action be taken against it.
Sitharaman also said that after the Budget speech, the government has left more money in the hands of the taxpayer, and he would be able to decide the appropriate way to spend the extra income.
"Those who prefer to save will continue to use the deductions available," said Sitharaman.
The Finance Minister in her Budget speech introduced more tax slabs and higher limits provided the taxpayer would be willing to forego all the existing exemptions and deductions including home loan interest, other tax savings investments.
When asked about measures being taken to tackle rising inflation, Sitharaman said that except for fluctuations seen due to the prices of perishable goods, the prices of most goods and food products are being kept under the norm.
When asked about the steps being taken to boost consumer confidence in cooperative banks, Sitharaman said that the government has amended the Banking Regulation Act to include cooperative banks under its ambit, and this will ensure that these banks will carry out compliance measures as that of other banks, and customers could then feel secure about the operation of cooperative banks.
Source: moneycontrol.com