Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have kept away from the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha during the debate and passage of the Goods and Services (GST) Bill, but he will be making an intervention in the Lok Sabha on Monday, when the amended Bill is debated in that House.
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Meanwhile, BJP President Amit Shah has called a meeting of Chief Ministers of party-ruled states on August 27 and organisational core groups of all states on August 23 in which issues like better coordination between government and party, promotion of the government’s “pro-poor” initiatives, and increasing usage of the digital media are likely to figure. Other parties, including the Left and the Samajwadi Party, will likewise support the Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Confirming that the Lok Sabha would take up the GST Bill on Monday, a senior Union Minister said the PM would intervene during the debate on the Bill. The Centre is looking to bring the AIADMK, the only party to oppose the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, on board. After deletion of the 1% additional tax on all inter-state supply of goods that was proposed in the original GST Bill passed by the Lower House, the Upper House approved the GST Bill unanimously.
“The constitutional amendment was pending for a long time, predominantly because Rajya Sabha was not able to reach a consensus”, said Jaitley expressing his delight over the passage of bill. Find us on Facebook too!
The GST will cut down the large number of taxes imposed by the central government and states and lead to the creation of a unified market, which would facilitate seamless movement of goods across states and reduce the transaction cost of businesses.
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With the aim to achieve the expected GST roll out date of 1 April 2017, the Government of India will now strive to expedite the finalisation of GST law along with its procedural and administrative aspects. “A Constitutional Amendment is operationalised, after clearing both Houses of Parliament with two-thirds majority, and after 50 per cent of the State legislatures clear the amendment”. What will, nevertheless, help is that the BJP and its allies are in power in 13 out of 29 states.
