TMC not against concept of GST if govt. compensates states adequately

Making its position clear on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) issue, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday said that it was not against the concept but provided the states were compensated adequately.

"Trinamool Congress has a very clear position on this. The Trinamool Congress is not at all against GST, we are for GST," TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O' Brien told ANI here.

"All we ask is an adequate compensation for states because the states lost out a lot on the (Central Sales Taxes) CST. So, that money should be given back over a period of time to the states, otherwise we are very much on board with GST," he added.

Talking about his party's approach towards the GST, Derek O' Brien said the TMC has conveyed its concern to the government on the issue of compensation.

"Our finance minister is in touch with the Union Finance Minister and we have expressed our concerns about this compensation. As a concept we are for GST, if this compensation can be worked out ....," he said.

According to reports, finance minister Arun Jaitley has introduced Constitution Amendment Bill for Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the Lok Sabha today, although he has informed the Rajya Sabha that the Bill will not be taken up in the Upper House in the current Parliament Session but in the Budget Session.

The GST will include indirect taxes like excise duty and service tax at the central level and value added tax (VAT) and local taxes on the states front.

Earlier, the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill, which had been introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2011, had lapsed. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government will now be required to come up with a fresh bill.

According to reports, the state governments have demanded that petroleum, alcohol and tobacco should be kept out of the purview of the GST.