“When repeated overtures to the Congress on the GST Bill were not yielding any results, we sought a report from the States”.
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The matter was also taken up by BJP leaders at a separate meeting with party chief Amit Shah during which they discussed how Congress was disrupting both Houses of Parliament on one pretext or the other.
Making a robust pitch for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday expressed hope that the invoice, which is at present caught in Rajya Sabha, will probably be handed subsequent yr.
A considerable section of diesel and gas expenses is due to value added duty, which would go to states, as the next component would go to gas organizations that endure large deficits on purchase of raw from worldwide areas, Mr Jaitley added. “That issue actually becomes a non-issue.So the issues are actually resolvable, provided there is an intention to resolve them”, said the Finance Minister.
Highly-placed sources said that a number of Congress MPs are retiring from the Upper House next year, and as the opposition party’s numbers have reduced in several states, the government is expecting better numbers for it from April, which is usually when the second half of the Budget session convenes after a short break.
Jaitley mentioned that India has the potential to grow at a much faster pace than it is growing now. We have more money to grid of poverty much faster.
Naidu managed to have a word with Kharge on Wednesday but refused to divulge what transpired during the brief tete-a-tete.
The government is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha.
In fact, he said, the government has stepped up spending on social sectors.
He also pointed out that nobody including even Congress has opposed the Bill. “So it again went to Select Committee”, he said.
He also said that there can not be just one GST rate. Government has also made it clear putting a tax cap on GST through a constitutional amendment is “not feasible”.
Raising the issue, Congress leader Anand Sharma said the government saved U.S. $88 billion on account of fall in global crude oil prices.
“Parliament should not send a message that it is obstacle to reforms”, he said.
The Finance Minister said, ‘Appeal the opposition to let GST pass at the earliest’. He said that all political parties have accepted the need for a GST in principle, and therefore, there was no reason to obstruct its passage through parliament.
Arun Jailtley was confident with the passage of GST, the country’s export shall improve significantly and result in India’s economy growing by an additional 1-2 percent.
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Speaking at the event, the Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairman Najib Shah said after implementation of GST in 2016, there are bound to be legacy issues for quite some time and the industry needs to be prepared for that.
