GST Rollout Difficult From April if Bill Not Passed Now: State Finance

When Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was introducing the GST Bill yesterday, he was rebuked by Congress parliamentarians who shouted “nahi chalegi”, meaning “this won’t do” in Hindi.

Introduction of the bill was opposed by Congress leader Anand Sharma, who said the business advisory committee has not allotted time for debating the bill.

Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson P.J. Kurien said it was not possible to proceed in view of the bedlam and adjourned proceedings till tomorrow. A Constitution amendment requires division of votes for which every member has to be in his or her seat.

“This disruption is not only risky for the country, but also the Congress”, he added, saying the party seems to be in a “self-destruct” mode.

“They have taken the 2014 defeat badly”.

In a scathing assault on the Congress party, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated on Tuesday that Sonia and Rahul have been unable to accept the very fact that anyone apart from the Gandhi family can rule India.

Jaitley said the “disruptionist” policy of the Congress was risky for the country.

On 10 August, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “The government has not responded on the issues which have blocked parliament for the past three weeks”.

“Congress is using Swaraj only as an excuse to block the GST Bill”, Jaitley said.

The GST that seeks to replace all the indirect taxes with a uniform levy has already been approved by the Lok Sabha and was in last session referred to a Rajya Sabha Select Committee. That is the economic consensus if the GST is introduced. Businesses will find it much easier to operate and expand with the passing of this bill.

Rejecting the contention, Jaitley said the bill had come up for consideration of the House earlier when the committee had given four hours.

Noting that state governments belonging to the Congress have consistently supported the proposal, he asked whether the party was adopting a negative role “only out of an obstructionist attitude”.

“It will help to eventually bring down prices because there will be no tax on tax”.

The central government has set the target to reform India’s indirect tax regime from April next year. “Most states are on board for GST roll out”, Mani said here.

Sources said the JPC report has also been deferred as the BJP does not want it to be used as a political tool against the party in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The government will need two-third majority in Rajya Sabha to pass the bill. “We will again request for its listing”, the Finance Minister said.