Congress' rigid stance on GST softens

 

The prospects of the much delayed GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill being passed in the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament has considerably brightened over the past few days said a report in the India Today. This is on account of the informal consultations between the government and the Congress.

 

The consultations between the two main parties are at an informal stage and will intensify close to the Monsoon Session. While the final decision on the Congress position will be taken by the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi, the government has discerned a change in the Congress party's position.

 

Sources in government and in the Congress party say the differences on the bill between the two sides have narrowed down. The broad contours of the compromise being worked out is that the Congress party will agree to soft pedal its demand for a cap on the percentage of tax that can be levied and the government dropping its proposal for one per cent additional tax in addition to changes in the composition of the GST council.

 

The Bill has been stalled in the Rajya Sabha on account of the opposition from the Congress, the Left Parties and the AIADMK. The government has managed to convince some of the regional parties like the Trinamool Congress, the JDU, the SP and the BSP. However, since it's a Constitutional Amendment Bill, it has to be passed by a two thirds majority in both Houses. It sailed through the Lok Sabha, where the government has the numbers but has come unstuck in the Upper House because of the government's inability to muster up the numbers.

 

CONGRESS SUPPORT NEEDED

The government needs the Congress party to support the bill for it to get past the two thirds majority. In addition to trying to persuade the Congress party the government has also been simultaneously working on parties like the AIADMK which has 13 MPs in the Upper House to either vote for the bill or at the very least lend indirect support by abstaining from voting against it. The government has also been encouraged by the attitude of the new CPI-M government in Kerela which has indicated that it is in favor of the bill.

If Parliament passes the bill it will have to be ratified by atleast 50 per cent of the state legislatures.

 

GST BILL FIRST INTRODUCED IN 2009

Both the Congress and the BJP have from time to time changed their position on the bill. The GST Bill was first introduced in 2009 by Pranab Mukeherjee as the Finance Minister. However, the UPA government was unable to get the bill passed on account of the opposition. Narendra Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat was instrumental in getting his party to oppose the bill. After the BJP came to power in 2014, it changed its position on GST and introduced the bill in Parliament. It sailed through the Lower House but has not been able to pass muster in the Upper House.