Which of the following Constitutional Amendment Acts led to formation of the Goods and Services Tax Council?

Correct — C. GST needed a constitutional change, because the Union and the states each had to surrender taxing powers the Constitution had given them.

The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 made that change. It inserted Article 246A for concurrent GST powers, Article 269A for inter-state supply, and Article 279A, under which the President constituted the GST Council.

The Council is the body the stem asks about, so option (c) is the key.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  103rd Constitutional Amendment Act — The 103rd Amendment, 2019, created the 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections in education and public employment. It amends Articles 15 and 16, not the taxation entries.
• (b)
  102nd Constitutional Amendment Act — The 102nd Amendment, 2018, gave constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes through Articles 338B and 342A. Nothing in it concerns indirect tax.
• (d)
  100th Constitutional Amendment Act — The 100th Amendment, 2015, gave effect to the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement and the exchange of enclave territories. It is a boundary amendment, not a fiscal one.

Before GST, the Union taxed the manufacture of goods and the states taxed their sale, and each list in the Seventh Schedule fenced the other out.

A single tax on supply therefore could not be introduced by an ordinary law — the legislative lists themselves had to be rewritten, which needs a constitutional amendment ratified by at least half the state legislatures.

The 101st Amendment did that and then built the machinery to keep the new tax in step across governments: the GST Council, a joint forum of the Union and every state, which recommends rates, exemptions, thresholds and model laws.

Key facts

• Article 279A, inserted by the 101st Amendment, provides for the GST Council.
• The Union Finance Minister chairs the Council, and every state's finance or taxation minister is a member.
• A Council decision needs three-fourths of the weighted votes cast, with the Centre holding one-third and the states together two-thirds.
• GST came into force on 1 July 2017.

Common traps

• Answering 122nd, which was the Bill's number in Parliament, when the enacted law is the 101st Amendment Act.
• Confusing the GST Council under Article 279A with the Finance Commission under Article 280.

No directly related past PYQ was found.