Cabinet Grants Approval for Amendments to Meghalaya GST Act 2017

Meghalaya Cabinet has approved amendments to the Meghalaya Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The amendments were approved on September 13, 2023.

3 ordinances passed by the Govt. were brought to the Cabinet as Bills and will be put up in the Autumn Session of the State Assembly namely —

1. Proposal to repeal Rajitlal University Act 2011
2. Amendment of the Meghalaya GST Act 2017 
3. Meghalaya Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2023

Cabinet approved the amendment to the National Law University of Meghalaya (Amendment) Bill, 2023. The amendment proposes a change in the structure of the Finance Committee of the University was proposed and nomenclatures that has to be changed in line with the Act. The same will be presented in the State Assembly.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma addressed the media and provided information about several legislative amendments and ordinances in Meghalaya:

• GST Act Amendments: The Chief Minister explained that these amendments are required as per decisions made by the GST Council at the national level. Each state government, including Meghalaya, is obligated to amend its GST Act in accordance with the decisions made by the GST Council. These amendments are essentially aimed at formalizing and implementing the decisions taken by the council. Initially, an ordinance was used to enact these changes, and now the state government plans to bring them to the Assembly for formal approval.
• Meghalaya Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2023: Sangma mentioned that changes were made to the Meghalaya Medical Council Act through an ordinance. These changes primarily involved nomenclature adjustments. The ordinance was passed a few weeks ago, and the government intends to regularize these amendments by presenting them in the upcoming Assembly session.
• Amendment to the National Law University of Meghalaya Bill, 2023: The amendments to this bill are related to the finance committee of the University. Further details about the specific changes were not provided in the statement. These amendments will also be presented in the upcoming Assembly session for formal approval.
• Repeal of the Rajit Lal University Act, 2011: Through an ordinance, the government has decided to repeal the Rajit Lal University Act, 2011. This indicates that the university's legal framework is being modified or abolished for specific reasons. The repeal will also be presented for regularization during the forthcoming Assembly session.

The regularizations and formal approvals for these legislative changes are scheduled to take place during the Assembly session scheduled from September 15 to 22, 2023.