The states led by the opposition parties like Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi have asked the central government to provide an extension in compensation released from the collections of Goods and Services Tax (GST) for a period of two years beyond 2022 to help the states in countering the effects of the outbreak of coronavirus.
The finance ministers of all the states held a video conference on Monday on the GST (Goods and Services Tax) council and discussed the issues faced by the states amid the outbreak of coronavirus. The finance ministers of the states realized that it is the need of the hour to create a special aid facility for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which have been hit the worst due to the outbreak. Manpreet Badal, the finance minister of Punjab said, “GST compensation, which is due to the states, should be given… the GST Council could also borrow and let the compensation continue for a year or two after 2022 also, which can be collected later”. He also said that a special meeting could not be held because of the lockdown so the suggestion was made in the GST Council Meeting 
Kerala has already asked the government for help as they are going through a financial crisis and need the support of the central government more than ever. The state of West Bengal said that they had received an inappropriate amount as funds from the government and have asked the central government to transfer the pending dues as soon as possible. The state also informed that they have also written a letter to the finance minister, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, asking the government to transfer the collections of Corporate Social Security to the relief fund of the state.
The government of Delhi has decided to take up the matter of release of funds in order to fight the outbreak. The states have decided that they will be seeking the help of the central government individually and have decided to ask the centre to clear the compensation under GST pending from December 2019. The central government had already transferred Rs 34,053 crore as pending GST compensation to the states for the month of November 2019 and October 2019 and is looking up to transfer the rest of the amounts soon.
