Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday expressed gratitude towards the GST Council for accepting the state’s demand of lowering GST on pencil sharpeners from 18% to 12%. Participating in the 49th GST Council meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, Cheema said that this decision would provide some relief to students and their parents. It is worth mentioning here that Cheema had opposed the proposal of considering the GST on pencil sharpeners at 18 percent instead of the existing slab of 12 percent, while participating in the 48th meeting of the GST Council through video conferencing on December 17. The Punjab Finance Minister also thanked the GST Council for deciding to clear the entire pending balance GST compensation of for June 2022. He said that this has become possible due to concrete and persistent efforts made by the CM Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government. He said that this decision would help the state in getting Rs 995 Crore as balance GST compensation pending for June 2022. He added that the selection of the state member for the tribunal should also be decided by the state.
