States inching towards GST, says Mani

A day after pressing for modifications in the Constitution Amendment Bill on goods and services tax (GST), the Empowered Committee of Finance Ministers on Friday seemed to be striking a conciliatory note with the Centre on the roll out of the new indirect tax system.

"It is a stupendous achievement that all the states with so much diversity,...diverse political governance, have come under the umbrella of the Empowered Committee and inching towards creating a single common market in the country," said the chairman of the Committee, K M Mani, who is also the finance minister of Kerala.

GST is scheduled to be rolled out from April 1, 2016.

On Thursday, the committee had put forward new demands on compensation which delay the GST introduction. It demanded full compensation to states for five years, whereas the Bill seeks to provide for such compensation for only three years, to be reduced to 75 per cent in the fourth year and 50 per cent in the fifth year.

Speaking at the conference organised by the Indirect Taxes Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India on Friday, Mani said GST should reduce final consumer prices of items.

GST is a major tax reform and should benefit the final consumer and the public without affecting resources of the states. The committee is in the process of discussing and arriving at consensus on large number of issues, he said.

On Thursday, consuming states opposed the Bill's provision to impose one per cent tax on inter-state sale of goods to help the manufacturing states. The commmittee is to take a view on the issue.

The Committee, Mani said, has been called by the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha to represent its views on the GST on June 16.

The Constitutional Amendment Bill for rolling out GST, was referred to the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha, while the Lok Sabha had already cleared the Bill. The Select Committee is scrutinising the Bill. If the Rajya Sabha modifies the Bill on the recommendations of the select panel, the Lok Sabha will have to re-consider the Bill. At least half of the states (15 out of 29) would have to give assent to the Bill, to enable its enactment.