GST Bill Back In Lok Sabha Today, PM Likely To Intervene

Lok Sabha is set to take up the Goods and Services Tax Bill for passage on Monday during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interve, even as the Centre today continued efforts for its early ratification by the state assemblies.

Chidambaram forcefully contended on August 3 in the Rajya Sabha while speaking on the Constitution amendment Bill that the CGST and the IGST would be Bills which would apply on taxpayers, on the common man.

The Modi government is working overtime to ensure that at least 50% of the state Assemblies pass the Bill within 30 days of Parliament clearing it.

The GST aims to put into place a single unified value added tax system, replacing a plethora of different state taxes. The government expects CPM and Trinamool Congress to back the bill in the Lok Sabha as well. As is known, in respect of money Bills the Upper House does not have an interventionist role and, therefore, the government, which does not have the numbers there, will prefer to pose the two Bills as money Bills and spare it of headache in getting them passed by going through the strenuous process of consensus-building.

During the forthcoming week of the Session, Lok Sabha will take up the Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the Employee’s Compensation (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016.

SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said in Mumbai that GST would result in efficiencies by enabling seamless movement of goods and integration of markets across the country.

BJP is in power in nine states including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Rajasthan and Haryana, while it is sharing power in four states including Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

The government has said April 1 next year will be the target date for the roll-out of the GST regime.

Ahead of this meeting, core groups of party’s state units are meeting on August 23 with Mr Shah.

NDA leaders are also banking on West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Bihar chief minister to call a special sitting of the assembly and ratify the constitutional amendment.