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For smooth and quick passage of GST Bill, government reaches out to opposition

Posted Date : 24-Nov-2015 , 08:34:40 am | Posted By CASANSAAR print Print
 The government is reaching out to parties in the opposition on the much-delayed goods and services tax — including looking at the possibility of incorporating some of the changes proposed by the Congress — as it seeks to ensure passage of the Constitution amendment bill during the winter session of Parliament.

Sources said there was a meeting on GST, mainly focused on the tax neutral rate, in North Block on Monday to explore if there was room for heeding some of the seven demands raised by Congress without undercutting the core of the landmark legislation. The issue will be discussed by senior government leaders - home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley and parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu - on Tuesday when they will thrash out the government's strategy for the Parliament session that starts on Thursday. 

Sources said while the government cannot go the full distance to appease Congress's concerns, it is not averse to taking a few steps to enlist the support of the main opposition party which, with its huge numbers in Rajya Sabha, has been a big hurdle in the government's effort to muster two-thirds support needed in the upper House for the reforms legislation. 

"We want to bring the bill in this session and are in with talks with all concerned," a senior member of the Modi Cabinet said. 

There were indications that the government plans to scale up its outreach to Congress by taking up the matter with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi. This followed realization that holding talks with floor leaders of Congress in the two Houses of Parliament was not getting anywhere.

The government has also reached out to non-Congress parties in the opposition - SP, Trinamool Congress, AIADMK and Telangana Rashtra Samiti - which are sympathetic to the need for early passage of the legislation. Finance minister of West Bengal Amit Mitra is expected to meet Jaitley on Wednesday. 

Sources said there would also be a fresh effort to take JD(U) on board, with government sources stressing that Bihar, a consuming state, will be a big beneficiary of the changes meant to be ushered in by the bill. "Bihar can hope to get anything between Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore in the opening year itself," a source said. 

"We are in consultations with our colleagues in the opposition to forge a consensus on the Constitution amendment bill," minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha told TOI. 

He said the government has established the parameters to have the best possible rates for GST. He said various data has been collected to establish the best possible GST rate. Chief economic adviser in the finance ministry Arvind Subramanian made a presentation on GST rates on Monday.

"We have worked out the parameters," Sinha said. "We are attempting a positive outcome in the winter session of Parliament," Sinha said when asked whether the government was hopeful of getting the GST bill approved. 

The rush of consultations come after the government failed to get opposition to back the bill to amend the Constitution during the budget as well as monsoon sessions, resulting in a race against time to roll out GST from April. The chances of the biggest indirect tax reform kicking in from the next fiscal are, however, remote given that there are at least three other legislations that need to be enacted after Parliament as well as half the state legislatures clear the Constitution amendment bill.

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