Finance Minister Manpreet Badal said the tax reform will bring an advantage to the state by bringing at par with other states in terms of tax imposition
Paving way for July 1 roll-out, Punjab Assembly unanimously passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2017 during the ongoing budget session, here on Monday.
Highlighting that Punjab being the most-heavily taxed state will be benefitted by GST, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal said the tax reform will bring an advantage to the state by bringing at par with other states in terms of tax imposition.
"Industries have not been coming to Punjab, partly because of the taxes, which are the highest in the state. Moreover, Punjab is a consumption-based state and GST will benefit it. The Union government has also assured to provide compensation in case of any revenue loss," said Badal, terming it as a reform of the century and the state should move along with the country.
However, participating in the debate, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kanwar Sandhu expressed concerns over the implementation of the Bill and said it would affect the debt-ridden farmers of the state, as there would be rise in prices of fertiliser, pesticides and agricultural inputs.
"The cost of cultivation would increase by at least 25 per cent which will burden the farmers. Apart from agriculture, horticulture and food processing units will be most impacted. The cost of tractors is also expected to increase, which will add to the burden of our farmers," said the AAP MLA.
Former Finance Minister in the SAD-BJP regime, Parminder Singh Dhindsa said though GST was a progressive step for the country, but would burden the farmers. "The agricultural inputs including fertilisers should have been zero-rated, if not exempted from the tax," he said.
With its decision, Punjab joined the list of 26 states which have adopted the GST Bill which is expected to be rolled out by the Central government from July 1 and bring 16 different taxes under one umbrella.
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