No request from govt to advance winter session: Congress

Party to wait and watch on its threat to launch nationwide protests to demand GST cap at 18%

The government has not forwarded any formal proposal to the Congress to advance the winter session of Parliament to facilitate the passage of the goods and services tax (GST) Bill, the party said.

“They are sounding out political parties but there has been no formal proposal as yet,” Congress Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma told Business Standard.

The Congress leader’s remark comes amid reports that the government plans to advance the winter session, which usually begins by the third week of November, by a fortnight to facilitate the passage of supporting legislation to the GST Bill.

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After playing hardball for months, the Congress supported a constitutional amendment to the Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament, which ran from July 18 to August 12.

The government has set a deadline of April 2017 to roll out the Bill. GST aims to do away with multiple taxes on goods and services and introduce one rate across the country.

An early passage of the supporting legislation in the winter session will give the government more time to prepare for implementation of the new tax legislation, which has to be ratified by 16 of the 29 state Assemblies.

Several states, including Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Nagaland, have ratified the Bill.

The GST Bill was stuck in the Rajya Sabha for months, as the government lacked numerical strength in the Upper House. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in May 2015, as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoys a majority in that House. The Congress had opposed the legislation, primarily on three points, saying they wanted to protect consumer interest, while the ruling BJP alleged it of blocking development.

Also Read: E-Commerce Companies Demand Exemption From GST
 

Trying to take credit for supporting the Bill, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had recently warned the government that his party would launch a nationwide agitation, if the Centre planned to increase the tax rate from 18 per cent.

Sources said the Congress managers were watching the developments closely but said organising a protest was at a premature stage. “The GST Council is yet to be constituted,” said Sharma, whose party has been demanding constitutional status for the body.