Kerala’s Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal slams Centre for GST cut Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal has said the Union government has deducted Rs 332 crore from Kerala’s IGST share in November.

The move will lead to a severe financial crisis in the state, the minister told a news conference on the sidelines of Nava Kerala Sadas in Palakkad.

He said a letter has been sent to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, demanding to withdraw the action of deducting the amount.

Balagopal said the state was expecting Rs 1,452 crore from the IGST share in November. However, there was deduction of Rs 332 crore in the share without explaining any reason and received a letter on November 29 from the Union government regarding this.

He said the action of the central government would adversely affect all states.

As per the intimation received from the Centre, a reduction of Rs 332 crore is being made in the November settlement to adjust the advance allocation to make up for the shortfall in the balance. It is not clear why or on what basis the cut was made.

In the letter to the Centre, the minister said if the action is part of the settlement, the figures based on it should also be handed over to the state.

The minister also sought details on the proportion of the amount recovered from the states in settlements made in a similar manner in the past.