New Delhi: The disagreement between the government and Congress over the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill seems to be heading towards a solution as the main Opposition is planning to drop its main demand – the tax rate being written into the Constitution amendment.
According to a report in The Times of India, the Congress, which has so far been critical of GST, has said that it is may do away with the demand of specifying a cap on the tax rates if the government provides a legal commitment for a rate that Congress views as reasonable and viable.
In a major shift of stance, Anand Sharma, deputy leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, suggested that the party may not insist its demand of inclusion of an 18 per cent tax cap in the bill, because of which the passage of the legislation in the Rajya Sabha has been stuck for more than a year.
Sharma also indicated that the Opposition is waiting for a call from government’s side and said that the “government would have to suggest ways for legal ringfencing of the rate.”
The upfront remark given by Anand Sharma seems to be a major initiative by Congress-led Opposition to iron out the glitches with the Centre ahead of the Parliament’s Monsoon Session starting July 18.
However, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has always denied making changes in the Amendment Bill, asserting that doing so will require a constitutional amendment every time the tax rate changes.
Meanwhile, confusion still persists regarding the GST Bill as many Congress leaders, including former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, have said that the party would continue to stick to its earlier demand of a cap on the GST rate until the government approaches them for a discussion over the issue.
