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No proposal to grant GST exemption on utilisation of MPLADS funds

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has told the parliamentary panel on finance that there is currently no proposal under consideration for granting any exemption from goods and services tax (GST) on utilisation of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds. 'As far as the burden of GST on MPLADS funds is concerned, utilisation of funds for receiving supply of goods and services under the scheme is taxable as per the applicable GST rates. The GST rates and exemptions are prescribed based on the recommendations of the GST Council, which is a statutory body. At present, there is no proposal under consideration for granting any exemption of GST on utilisation of MPLADS funds,' the ministry told the parliamentary panel. Earlier, the House panel had urged the ministry to prepare a proposal to take up the matter with the finance ministry for waiving GST on MPLADS to enhance the effectiveness of the scheme. 'The Committee observes that this scheme of noble cause is heavily burdened under the GST, and the current amount of funds that have been earmarked for this scheme seems to be insufficient to fulfil the desired objective. The Committee recommend the ministry to prepare a proposal to take up the matter with the finance ministry for waiving off GST from MPLADS to enhance the effectiveness of the scheme,' the House panel had noted. Besides, the House panel also inquired whether there was a proposal to increase the yearly allocation under the scheme from ₹5 crore per member, as the current amount of funds seems insufficient due to inflation and to fulfil the desired objective of creating 'durable community assets of national priorities in the interest of the common public.' To this, the ministry submitted that at present, the approval for the scheme is till 2025–26, and it would take action for extension of the scheme beyond 31 March 2026, following due process of third-party evaluation, consultation with stakeholders, and taking into account the requests received. Meanwhile, in response to the House panel's expectation that the ministry remain committed to introducing further reforms in the National Statistical System (NSS) to boost its efficacy and make the estimates more robust, the ministry replied that the NSS has consistently adapted itself to the growing data requirements of the nation, mainly through embedding modern technological advancements. 'Through its mathematically valid scientific survey designs, 100 per cent digital data collection, robust online scrutiny and data cleaning, NSS is now capable of conducting a number of surveys simultaneously across the nation and publishing the results with zero delay,' it said.