After GST, states lost all power to tax goods and services.

Article 246A specifically preserves state legislative power to make GST laws for supplies within their own state, alongside Parliament.

The GST Council's recommendations are legally binding on states because of Article 246A.

The Supreme Court in Mohit Minerals (2022) clarified that GST Council recommendations are only persuasive, not binding, and states retain independent law-making power under Article 246A.

The Constitution of India

अनुच्छेद 246A

वस्तू व सेवा कराच्या बाबतीत विशेष तरतूद

वस्तू व सेवा कराच्या बाबतीत विशेष तरतूद.— (1) अनुच्छेद 246 व 254 यांमध्ये काहीही अंतर्भूत असले तरी, संसदेस, आणि खंड (2) ला अधीन राहून, प्रत्येक राज्याच्या विधानमंडळास, संघराज्याने किंवा अशा राज्याने बसविलेल्या वस्तू व सेवा कराच्या बाबतीत कायदे करण्याचा अधिकार आहे. (2) जेव्हा वस्तूंचा, किंवा सेवांचा, अथवा दोन्हींचा पुरवठा, आंतरराज्यीय व्यापार किंवा वाणिज्य यांच्या ओघात घडून येतो तेव्हा, संसदेला, वस्तू व सेवा कराच्या बाबतीत कायदे करण्याचा अनन्य अधिकार आहे. स्पष्टीकरण.—या अनुच्छेदाच्या तरतुदी, अनुच्छेद 279क च्या खंड (5) मध्ये निर्दिष्ट केलेल्या वस्तू व सेवा कराच्या बाबतीत, वस्तू व सेवा कर परिषदेने शिफारस केलेल्या दिनांकापासून अंमलात येतील.]

हे का आहे

Before 2016, India's indirect tax system was fragmented: the Centre taxed manufacturing (excise) and services, while states taxed the sale of goods (VAT), leading to cascading taxes and complexity. The 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016 inserted Article 246A to create a single, unified Goods and Services Tax (GST) that both the Centre and states could levy together, replacing this patchwork with one coordinated national tax system.

न्यायालये याला कशी वाचतात

In Union of India v. Mohit Minerals Pvt. Ltd. (2022), the Supreme Court held that Article 246A gives Parliament and state legislatures simultaneous, equal, and non-hierarchical power to legislate on GST — meaning states are not subordinate to the Centre in this domain. The Court also ruled that recommendations of the GST Council (mentioned in the linked Article 279A) are only recommendatory and persuasive, not binding, reinforcing that Article 246A preserves genuine legislative choice for states within the cooperative-federalism framework of GST.

सामान्य गृहितके

धरण: After GST, states lost all power to tax goods and services.
घटना: Article 246A specifically preserves state legislative power to make GST laws for supplies within their own state, alongside Parliament.
धरण: The GST Council's recommendations are legally binding on states because of Article 246A.
घटना: The Supreme Court in Mohit Minerals (2022) clarified that GST Council recommendations are only persuasive, not binding, and states retain independent law-making power under Article 246A.