30/03/2017
GST Bills debate: The Lok Sabha has cleared C-GST, I-GST, Compensation law and UT GST bill
Tax Reform GST Heads For July 1 Rollout, Crucial Bills Cleared: 10 Facts
Edited by Raija Susan Panicker | Updated: Mar 29, 2017 21:00 IST
New Delhi:
After an eight-hour debate, the Lok Sabha has passed all four GST or Goods and Services Tax-related bills crucial to the launch in July of the country's biggest tax reform since Independence. Wrapping up the discussion, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made a strong pitch for a simple tax regime, reminding main opposition party the Congress that seven finance ministers of states it rules have signed off on the provisions of the four bills as part of the GST council.
Here are 10 latest developments on the GST bills debate:
To the Congress' objection to a GST with multiple tax rates, the Finance Minister said, "If there are no multiple rates, it will become a highly regressive tax...Some goods are essential for the poor." To illustrate his point he said, "A BMW and Hawai chappal (slippers) can't have the same tax. What is the goods, who uses it, matters."
As he initiated the debate a little after noon on Wednesday, Mr Jaitley said, "These are revolutionary bills which will benefit all...States have pooled in their sovereignty into the GST council, and centre has done the same," pitching it as a "unique experience of Indian legislatures."
The Congress' Veerappa Moily accused the BJP of costing India 12 lakh crores by opposing the reform when it was initiated by his party when it ruled at the centre. He criticised various provisions in the bills and said the BJP's effort he said was "not a game-changer but only a baby step."
Mr Moily also accused the government of undermining the Rajya Sabha or Upper House. "The Upper House is the council of states, yet it has no right to discuss crucial bills. This is an assault on federal structure - I say that all members of the Rajya Sabha must resign," he said.
After the bills are passed by the Lok Sabha, where the government has a big majority, they will go to the Rajya Sabha. But because they have been presented as "money bills", the Upper House, where the opposition has more members, can only suggest changes, which the Lok Sabha can choose to accept or reject.
The government has emphasised that it wants the GST bills to be passed in parliament with the consensus of parties as was witnessed in August last year when a bill to amend the Constitution was passed to facilitate the launch of GST.
The AIADMK, the only party to walk out in August, stuck to its demand today for better compensation for states like Tamil Nadu. "It is quite clear a manufacturing state like Tamil Nadu will permanently lose revenue if GST is implemented, said the party's TG Venkatesh Babu, adding, "We are happy some of the concerns raised by us are addressed but some are yet to be addressed."
The government has to ensure that it gets parliament's approval for all the four bills by April 12, when the Budget session in parliament ends, to be able to meet the July 1 launch date. It has already missed an earlier deadline of April 1 for GST roll-out.
The bills being voted on are the Central GST bill, the Integrated GST bill, the Union Territories GST bill and the compensation law. Once these get parliament's nod, a state GST bill will be presented in state assemblies for their approval.
GST subsumes a slew of indirect taxes at the centre and in states. The one-nation one-tax regime is expected to boost the rate of economic growth by about 0.5 percentage points, broaden the revenue base and cut compliance cost for firms.
