PUBLIC NOTICE
1. The Thirteenth Finance Commission invites
suggestions on issues related to its terms of reference from the members of the
general public, Institutions and Organizations.
2. The Thirteenth Finance
Commission has been constituted in pursuance of the provisions of Article 280 of the
Constitution of India by the President under the Chairmanship of Dr. Vijay L. Kelkar vide
a Notification dated 13th November, 2007. The Commission shall make
recommendations covering a period of five years commencing on the 1st April 2010 as to the
following matters :-
(i) the
distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to
be, or may be, divided between them under Chapter I Part
XII of the Constitution and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of
such proceeds;
(ii) the
principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the
Consolidated Fund of India and the sums to be paid to the States which are in need of
assistance by way of grants-in-aid of their revenues under article 275 of the Constitution
for purposes other than those specified in the provisos to clause (1) of that article; and
(iii) the
measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of
the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by
the Finance Commission of the State.
3. The Commission shall review the state of
the finances of the Union and the States, keeping in view, in particular, the operation of
the States’ Debt Consolidation and Relief Facility 2005-2010 introduced by the
Central Government on the basis of the recommendations of the Twelfth Finance Commission,
and suggest measures for maintaining a stable and sustainable fiscal environment
consistent with equitable growth.
4. In making its recommendations, the Commission shall have
regard, among other considerations, to –
(i)
the resources of the Central Government, for five years commencing on 1st April
2010, on the basis of levels of taxation and non-tax revenues likely to be reached at the
end of 2008-09;
(ii) the
demands on the resources of the Central Government, in particular, on account of the
projected Gross Budgetary Support to the Central and State Plan, expenditure on civil
administration, defence, internal and border
security, debt-servicing and other committed expenditure and liabilities;
(iii) the
resources of the State Governments, for the five years commencing on 1st April 2010, on
the basis of levels of taxation and non-tax revenues likely to be reached at the end of
2008-09;
(iv) the
objective of not only balancing the receipts and expenditure on revenue account of all the
States and the Union, but also generating surpluses for capital investment;
(v) the
taxation efforts of the Central Government and each State Government and the potential for
additional resource mobilisation to improve the tax-Gross Domestic Product ratio in the case of the Union and tax-Gross State
Domestic Product ratio in the case of the States;
(vi) the
impact of the proposed implementation of Goods and Services Tax with effect from 1st
April, 2010, including its impact on the country’s foreign trade;
(vii) the
need to improve the quality of public expenditure to obtain better outputs and outcomes;
(viii) the
need to manage ecology, environment and climate change consistent with sustainable
development;
(ix) the
expenditure on the non-salary component of maintenance and upkeep of capital assets and
the non-wage related maintenance expenditure on plan schemes to be completed by 31st March, 2010 and the norms on the basis of
which specific amounts are recommended
for the maintenance of the capital assets and the manner of monitoring such expenditure;
(x) the
need for ensuring the commercial viability of irrigation projects, power projects,
departmental undertakings and public sector enterprises through various means, including
levy of user charges and adoption of measures to promote efficiency.
5. In
making its recommendations on various matters, the Commission shall take the base of
population figures as of 1971, in all such cases where population is a factor for
determination of devolution of taxes and duties and grants-in-aid.
6. The Commission may review the present
arrangements as regards financing of Disaster Management with reference to the National
Calamity Contingency Fund and the Calamity Relief Fund and the funds envisaged in the
Disaster Management Act, 2005(53 of 2005), and
make appropriate recommendations thereon.
7. The Commission
shall indicate the basis on which it has arrived at its findings and make available the
estimates of receipts and expenditure of the Union and each of the States.
8. This
notice as well as relevant material on the previous Finance Commissions is available on
the website of the Finance Commission http://fincomindia.nic.in/
9. The
Finance Commission would encourage suggestions/views from all interested organisations and
individuals which may be sent by 31st March, 2008 in any of the following
manner :
(i)
By post, addressed to the Secretary, Thirteenth Finance Commission, Jeevan Bharti
Building, Tower-1, Ground Floor, Parliament Street, New Delhi – 110 001.
(ii) Through
e-mail to : secy-tfc@nic.in
(iii) Through
website http://fincomindia.nic.in by clicking on
hyperlink ‘call for suggestions’