CHENNAI: State Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan after attending the 49th GST Council Meeting addressed the media on Saturday and stated that setting up of GST Appellate Tribunal was discussed in the meeting and the slogan of 'One nation, one tax, one tribunal' applies to politics and not for action.

He said, "The setting up of the GST Appellate Tribunal was discussed in the meeting held today. A sub-committee report was submitted in this regard. Several states have opposed the setting up of appellate tribunals only at the national level. Moreover, thirteen members of the GST Council have expressed interest in setting up state tribunals," he said.

"It is easy to raise slogans like 'One nation, one tax, one tribunal', but it is difficult to implement. The 'One nation, one tax, one tribunal' slogan is applicable to politics and not for action. The rights of all states being protected as per federal structure are what is 'One nation, one tax, one tribunal’,” he said.

"They say that GST takes place in the federal structure. In fact, if there is a meeting or a council in the spirit of federalism, the discussion on the amount of compensation should also take place in this council. Personally, it is not fair for the Finance Minister or the Central government to take a decision and say yes or not," he added.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 49th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi today. Sitharaman also said the entire pending dues for the GST compensation cess to the states will be cleared as of today.

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