Congress paves way for easy passage of GST reforms bill

The Constitution amendment bill for key taxation reforms of the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) is set to be sent to a select committee, once it comes up before the Rajya Sabha on Monday, as the government and the Opposition are believed to have arrived at a deal. The Opposition led by the Congress is understood to have agreed to help the passage of this key reform bill in the first week of the monsoon session, scheduled in the middle of July.

The government has already conveyed to parties to send the controversial land acquisition bill to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) and promulgate an Ordinance for the third time to keep it live until the next Parliament session. It has also tentatively decided to wind up the budget session of Parliament on Tuesday, a day earlier than the schedule, removing another irritant with the Opposition, which was up in arms for extending the session, without their consent.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday made it clear that the Congress will support the government in passing the GST bill but only after the few changes inserted in it by the present government are evaluated by a select committee of the Rajya Sabha. In an informal chat with reporters after an award function here, he said the Congress would not hold the country to ransom by putting brakes to the GST. He pointed out that it is the Congress that pioneered this new tax to replace a plethora of central and state taxes while it was the BJP that had opposed its introduction for the past many years. He said it is, therefore, the Congress' responsibility to see that the GST becomes a reality at the earliest.

The Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill and it is listed for consideration in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. In the 245 member Upper House, the proposed legislation, a Constitutional amendment, needs 164 votes. As per the arithmetic, 113 MPs are against, while 102 MPs from treasury benches, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and some smaller parties are in favour of the Bill.

Conceding the voting may go down the wire and create more acrimony, the government has reluctantly agreed to refer it to the Select Committee but with a rider that its report is given on or before the first day of the next monsoon session. It was initially ready to push the Bill with support of the regional parties who see big gain to their state governments from the GST. Dr Manmohan Singh's remarks as such endorses the Congress demand for allowing an all-party select committee to examine the new changes brought by the government in the Bill.

A top government source said the Congress is ready to help pass the Bill in the very first week of the monsoon session that can be held as early as the second week of July. He said the Government has garnered support of the regional parties like Trinamul Congress, Janata Dal(U), BSP, SP and NCP to defeat any motion of the Congress to send the Bill to the select committee, but it finds better if the Bill is passed smoothly in July instead of the confrontation.

A senior Congress leader said there can be a time-bound examination of the Bill by the select committee. "The BJP which delayed the GST rollout for years should not put a gun on our head for a few days. You can't serve half-cooked meal. Also, the Empowered Committee of finance ministers is still deliberating and there are several key issues which need re-examination," he said.

He indicated that even the Undisclosed Foreign Income & Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill – popularly known as black money bill, which is to be first debated in the Lok Sabha -- and the Juvenile Justice Bill which now goes to the Rajya Sabha after getting the Lok Sabha's nod will have to be also sent to the parliamentary committees for further scrutiny.

The juvenile justice bill needs re-examination since it has some harsh measures, while the black money bill is seen by many as outright draconian. Several union ministers and the BJP MPs are not happy with the black money as they say it is badly conceptualised. The corporate leaders have grave concerns about it as some of them have reportedly conveyed to the Prime Minister that it would have to be redrafted as otherwise even a low-level Income Officer can start tormenting the industrialists and this will go against the principle of "ease of doing business" that he is harping upon.

The government has put the land acquisition, black money and whistle blowers bills in the Lok Sabha for consideration on Monday and the compulsory afforestation fund bill on Tuesday. The Bills listed in the Rajya Sabha on Monday are the Constitution amendment bills for GST and Bangladesh border, coal mines, prevention of corruption and companies amendment bills, while no legislative business of the government is listed on Tuesday.