Examine how the GST Council reflects cooperative federalism. Does the *Mohit Minerals* judgment change its role?

The GST Council was created under Article 279A by the 101st Constitutional Amendment, 2016. It brings the Union Finance Minister and State Finance Ministers together in one body [1]. Because it pools the taxing powers of both levels of government, it is India's clearest institutional example of cooperative federalism.

GST Council as an instrument of cooperative federalism

• Pooled sovereignty: The Centre and the States gave up separate indirect taxes for a common GST. They now decide rates, exemptions and thresholds together [1].
• Weighted voting: The Centre holds one-third of the vote weight and the States two-thirds. Every decision needs three-fourths of the weighted votes cast, so neither side can act alone [1].
• Harmonised market: Article 279A(6) directs the Council to aim for a harmonised national market for goods and services [1].
• Dispute mechanism: Article 279A(11) lets the Council set up a forum to settle Centre–State and inter-State disputes [1].
• Consultation in practice: The 56th meeting (2025) approved a two-slab (5%, 18%) structure from 22 September 2025 [2]. In 2026 the Centre sent States a concept note on annual filing for small B2C taxpayers instead of acting on its own [4].
• Asymmetry: The Centre's one-third weight works as an effective veto. No single State has one.

Does Mohit Minerals change its role?

• Holding: In Union of India v. Mohit Minerals (2022), the Supreme Court held that the Council's recommendations have only persuasive value. They do not bind Parliament or State legislatures [3].
• Reasoning: Article 246A gives the Union and the States simultaneous power to legislate on GST, and Article 279A has no non-obstante clause. Treating recommendations as binding would disrupt fiscal federalism [3].
• What changes: The Council moves from a quasi-legislative body to a forum for negotiation. States gain legal room to dissent.
• What endures: Its constitutional mandate and voting rules stay the same. A uniform tax still depends on consensus, which is why the 2025 rate changes were applied nationwide [2]. The Court itself linked GST's purpose to cooperative federalism and harmony [3].

The judgment does not weaken the Council. It changes the Council from a rule-maker into a consensus-builder.

The Council reflects cooperative federalism through shared power, weighted voting and dialogue. Mohit Minerals strengthens this by making persuasion, not compulsion, the basis of its authority. Activating the Article 279A(11) dispute mechanism and consulting States before meetings, as the 2026 concept note did [4], can make the Council a model of collaborative fiscal federalism. That would be true to the Constitution's idea of a "Union of States".