New Delhi: Amid stiff resistance by the Opposition parties, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday initiated discussion in the Lok Sabha on the Goods and Services Tax Bill, and assured regional parties and others that no state would lose revenue once GST was operationalised.
The Congress made a strong case for referring the Bill to a standing committee, with its leader Mallikarjun Kharge saying there were many new amendments that needed to be examined by the parliamentary panel. He was backed by the Trinamool Congress, BJD and Left parties. Mr Jaitley said the Bill would be a “win-win” measure for all, and that the states had nothing to fear.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan voiced members’ concern that the LS should first discuss the demands for grants by various ministries, but allowed Mr Jaitley to initiate the discussion, with the rider that a full discussion will take place in the House only next week.
Mr Jaitley said the bill would be a “win-win” measure for all, and that the states had nothing to fear. Members of the Congress, led by its president Sonia Gandhi, along with MPs of the TMC, Left and NCP staged a walkout after their plea for referring the Constitution Amendment Bill to the standing committee was not accepted. Though the AIADMK and BJD also opposed its consideration, they did not walk out. The finance minister assured full cooperation by the government to complete the business of demands for grants of various ministries before the guillotine is applied on April 28.
Mr Jaitley said: “The GST is going to lead to a win-win situation as far as the Centre and the states are concerned. It is going to add to India’s GDP growth. It is going to further expand the tax base and improve revenue.” He said the states will not lose out on revenue once the GST is implemented. He reminded everyone that even when the Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced, the states had voiced concerns that they would lose revenue, but none of them had lost.
Hence, he added, the states need not fear any revenue loss with GST’s implementation. He also claimed that the “ease of doing business” would improve. Refuting the Opposition’s claims, Mr Jaitley said that “nobody has a monopoly in trying to stop the growth of this country”. The finance minister went on to add: “The UPA must start supporting legislation which it had brought in. This is the kind of contradiction I am not able to understand.”
