New Delhi: The government has extended the tenure of the 16th Finance Commission by one month, till November 30.
The Commission, chaired by former NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya, was constituted on December 31, 2023, and was originally scheduled to submit its report by October 31.
According to a Finance Ministry notification dated October 10, the deadline for the submission of the report has now been pushed to the end of November.
The 16th Finance Commission is tasked with making recommendations on the distribution of taxes between the Centre and states for the five-year period beginning April 1, 2026.
The Commission comprises four members and is supported by Secretary Ritvik Pandey, along with two joint secretaries and one economic advisor.
Its full-time members include retired bureaucrat Annie George Mathew and economist Manoj Panda, while SBI Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh and RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar serve as part-time members.
Besides suggesting the formula for tax devolution and revenue enhancement, the panel will also review the mechanisms for financing disaster management efforts, particularly in relation to funds set up under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The Finance Commission, a constitutional body, provides recommendations on Centre–state financial relations. The previous 15th Finance Commission, headed by N.K. Singh, had recommended that states receive 41% of the divisible tax pool for the period 2021–22 to 2025–26, the same share as proposed by the 14th Finance Commission led by Y.V. Reddy.
