Skip to main content

FM calls Congress suggestions on GST ‘preposterous’

By
Barely two days before the start of the winter session of Parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government was willing to reach out to the Congress over the goods and services tax ( GST) but counselled the party to reconsider some of its suggestions as they can “ damage” the new indirect taxation system.
Speaking at the annual day function of Assocham in New Delhi on Tuesday, Jaitley termed “preposterous” the Congress’ suggestion that tariff must be mentioned in the Constitution amendment Bill. “ It did not dawn on them when ( the then finance minister) PChidambaram accepted the Standing Committee recommendations,” Jaitley said, adding it would be “ extremely unfair” to the country “ if we try to impose in the name of political compromise, a GST with a defective architecture”.
“And when tariff rate has to be mentioned in the Constitution itself, ( then it) is a flawed architecture...
Because the GST with flawed architecture can actually damage the system much more than it can benefit,” he said, adding this wasn’t there in Pranab Mukherjee’s as well as Chidambaram’s Bill.
Finding fault with the dispute resolution mechanism suggested by the Congress, Jaitley said, “ Two suggestions have emerged. The first is to make the Centre one- fourth ( in the dispute resolution body). If the Centre becomes one- fourth, states become three- fourth (and they) can decide on India’s taxation policy. So, India as a union of state ceases to exist.” Referring to another Congress suggestion to create a forum where judges will decide these issues, Jaitley said taxation was one of the very few powers that Parliament has and the proposal would result in that power also shifting to courts in the world’s biggest democracy.
But, Jaitley’s concerns are unlikely to cut much ice with the Congress, with leaders saying these were “ bonafide concerns” and not political or partisan in any way. They reiterated that the Congress had never been opposed to GST but the government’s drafting of the Constitution amendment Bill diluted the essence and the objective that were envisaged with ushering in this landmark tax reform.
Business Standard, New Delhi, 25th Nov. 2015

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Budget: Startup sector gets new Fund of Funds, FM to allocate Rs 10K cr

By
  The Indian startup sector received a boost with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing the establishment of a new fund of funds (FoF) in the Budget 2025. The minister unveiled a fresh FoF with an expanded scope, allocating Rs 10,000 crore. The initial fund of funds announced by the government with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore successfully catalysed commitments worth Rs 91,000 crore, the minister said.   “The renewal of the Rs 10,000 crore commitment to the Fund of Funds for alternative investment funds (AIFs) is a significant step forward for the Indian startup and investment ecosystem. The initial Rs 10,000 crore commitment catalysed Rs 91,000 crore in investments, and I fully expect this fresh infusion to attract an additional Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh crore in capital,” said Anirudh Damani, managing partner, Artha Venture Funds.   Damani further added that this initiative will provide much-needed growth capital to early-stage startups, further strengthenin...
Post a Comment
Read more

GST collection for November rises by 8.5% to Rs.1.82 trillion

By
  New Delhi: Driven by festive demand, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the Union and state governments climbed to Rs.1.82 trillion in November, marking an 8.5% year-on-year growth, according to official data released on Sunday. Sequentially, however, the latest collection figures are lower than the Rs.1.87 trillion reported in October, which was the second highest reported so far since the new indirect tax regime was introduced in 2017. The highest-ever GST collection of Rs.2.1 trillion was reported in April. The consumption tax figures highlight the positive impact of the recent festive season on goods purchases, providing a much-needed boost the industry had been anticipating. The uptick in GST collections driven by festive demand had been anticipated by policymakers, who remain optimistic about sustained growth in rural consumption and an improvement in urban demand. The Ministry of Finance, in its latest monthly economic review released last week, stated that I...
Post a Comment
Read more