Letters: End the GST logjam

With reference to the thought-provoking editorial, "The GST logjam" (December 1), there is no doubt that the Opposition's continued anti-government stance is a big hindrance to the passage of the Goods and Services Tax Bill, one of the biggest tax reforms proposed since 1991.

Track record shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have long been engaged in a never-ending, yet unfortunate, political game of "what you propose, I will oppose", depending on who between the two is in power. But two wrongs can never make a right.

In the case of the GST, all major political parties agree in principle that it is required; the differences are over some provisions contained in it. There are also serious concerns regarding the proposal to fix a revenue-neutral GST rate in the Constitution Amendment Bill itself. I fully endorse the editorial's view that it would be more prudent to retain the rates in the regulations under the GST law.

The imposition of a one per cent manufacturing levy will go against the grain of this innovative indirect tax law, which aims to do away with the present multiple taxation regime that makes both compliance and monitoring difficult.

However, I differ with the contention that no harm would be done if concurrence is made mandatory for one-third of the states before any changes are made in the rates or other GST provisions.

One wishes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had opened the channel of communication with the Congress long back on the passage of the Bill. One hopes that the effort he is making now to reach out to the Opposition will usher in positive thinking on the part of all the parties so that the winter session of Parliament is not washed out like the monsoon session. Let our parliamentarians engage in some meaningful debate and threadbare discussions on key national issues that have been hanging fire for long.

Kumar Gupt, Panchkula

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