Bills for GST appellate tribunals, spending likely in winter session

livemint.com:

GST) appeals tribunals and to seek permission for changes in its spending plans, two people aware of the plans said. The bill to amend the central GST law will propose to allow advocates with experience in litigation to be appointed as judicial members in GST appellate tribunal benches, a person aware of the plan said on the condition of anonymity. The age criteria will also be more relaxed than when it was originally proposed, in an attempt to ease the process of finding suitable members.

The government will also present a bill to seek Parliament’s approval for adjustments to the Centre’s ₹35 trillion spending programme in the current fiscal, a second person added. The supplementary demand for grants for the year is expected to seek adjustments to the Centre’s spending programme without major net additional fund outgo. The parliament’s winter session is scheduled to commence from 4 December.

“The government will stick to the 5.9% fiscal deficit target for the current financial year. The Bill will seek reallocation of savings under certain categories of spending to where there is extra requirement," the second person said, also on the condition of anonymity. One area of additional funding requirement is the nutrient-based fertilizer subsidy.

In the first six months of the financial year, the government spent 96% of the ₹44,000 crore originally allocated for this at the beginning of the year. The total food, fertilizer and petroleum subsidy spending up to September stood at 55% of the ₹3.7 trillion earmarked for the year, according to official data. The government requires Parliament’s green signal for extra spending even if it is met through savings under some other category.