Over Rs 81,000 crore GST compensation is due to states for FY 2020-21. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said GST compensation of Rs 91,000 crore has been issued to all states/ UTs for the last fiscal year as the amount in the GST compensation fund was not enough to meet the entire requirement.

“The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has led to higher wages demand due to lower GST collection and at the same time lower collection of GST compensation cess,” he added. The amount due to major states for 2020-21 include Maharashtra (Rs 15,138 crore), Karnataka (Rs 7,202 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 7,109 crore), Gujarat (Rs 6,583 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 6,155 crore), Delhi (Rs 5,190 crore), West Bengal (Rs 3,911 crore) and Punjab (Rs 3,752 crore).

The Centre had taken Rs 1.1 lakh crore under a unique window and passed it on to states as a back-to-back loan to help them meet the resource gap due to short-release compensation on account of low balance in the compensation fund. “In addition, depending on the amount available in the Compensation Fund, the Centre has also been releasing the regular GST compensation to states to make up for GST revenue shortfall,” he added.