13th Finance Commission submits its report

The Thirteenth Finance Commission has submitted its report to President in December 2009. The report was submitted by the Chairman of Commission Dr. Vijay Kelkar. The main task of the Finance Commission is to make recommendations on sharing tax revenues between centre and states.

The commission has made recommendations for the fiscal consolidation for a five year period from 2010 to 2015. The report additionally calls for climate linked fiscal incentive to states, calls for enhanced royalty for mineral resources of states and suggests framework for output at the state level. Broadly speaking, the report maintains the centre-state share of net tax proceeds.

Calls for 3-yearly rolling budget
The commission has asked the government to stop changing tax and duty rates annually and switch to a three-year rolling budget. A rolling budget would mean tax and duty rates unchanged for a longer period, and thus help companies and individuals to plan their financial strategies in advance.The report has also assessed the impact of the proposed goods and services tax (GST) on trade.

Finance Commission of India
The Finance Commission of India is established under articles 280 of the Indian  Constitution of India by thePresident of India. The President had constituted the 13th Finance Commission on 13th November, 2007. Dr. Vijay Kelkar, former Union Fiance Secretary and advisor to the Finance Minister was appointed as Chairman of the Commission. Its other members included- B K Chaturvedi, Dr. Indira Rajaraman, Dr. Ab