Temporary retention of GST cess pending reconciliation not diversion: Finance ministry

NEW DELHI: Finance ministry sources have countered Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit finding of central government wrongly retaining Rs 47,272 crore of GST compensation cess meant for states, saying temporary retention cannot be termed as diversion.  Days after the CAG flagged that the Centre in first two years of the GST implementation wrongly retained GST compensation cess that wa…