NEW DELHI: The Central government Friday released Rs. 17,000 crore to states towards the balance of Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation. This takes the total amount released thus far in the fiscal year to more than Rs.1.15 lakh crore. "With this release, the government has released in advance the whole amount of cess estimated to be collected this year till March-end available for payment of compensation to states," the ministry said in a statement. States were guaranteed compensation for revenue loss resulting from GST implementation for five years when it went into force on July 1, 2017. A cess is imposed on specific items in order to pay for state compensation, and the amount received from the cess is added to the compensation fund. On November 25, the Center claimed it had disbursed Rs17,000 crore to the states and union territories as part of the remaining GST compensation for the months of April to June. As per the announcement, the entire amount of compensation released to states and UTs up to this point, including this amount for 2022–2023 is 1,15,662 crore. This decision was made to help the states in managing their resources and making certain that their programmes, particularly the expenditure on capital are carried out successfully during the financial year. Centre ready to bring fuel under GST regime Banks will be closed for 2 days, must complete your work before... How is Univest influencing India’s money decisions?