Government puts GST on menu today

Once the constitutional amendment bill is approved with a two-thirds majority, it will have to be ratified by half the states. That will followed by the government moving further bills to implement the new tax regime.

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The targeted rollout is April 1, 2016. GST will subsume various taxes including sales, excise and service. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier said implementation of GST would increase the GDP by 1-2 per cent. Sources said almost all states are on board as the Centre has been working towards addressing their concerns.

The BJP is likely to issue a whip to its members asking them to be present to allow passage of the constitution amendment bill.

The demands for grants are expected to be guillotined and the Finance Bill passed by April 29. Senior ministers have said the government will push its other legislative agenda only from May 4.

The Congress criticised the government for its hurry to get the GST bill passed without following convention. “They have done away with the Parliament convention of deliberating key bills in the standing committee, which is unfortunate,” said Deepender Hooda, Congress MP.

Sources said the government wanted to restore a “positive atmosphere” that they said has been hampered by developments such as unseasonal rains and crop damage, protests against the land bill and a farmer’s suicide at Jantar Mantar. “The message has to go out that the government means business and is keen on reforms,” said a minister.

Land bill

Sources in the government said that the farmer’s suicide at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday has not “halted the government’s discussions with smaller parties” to muster support for the land bill. The government had to re-promulgate an ordinance after it failed to manage support for the bill in the Rajya Sabha.

“We will not back out because we are answerable to the people. We can’t just wait and start working in the fifth year. People will ask us what the outcome of our governance has been,” said a minister.

BJP leaders have been in touch with smaller and regional parties. The Congress and the Left parties are said to have taken a stand that the Rajya Sabha will neither pass or reject the bill.

“Although some regional parties would like to support the BJP on the land bill, they do not want to be seen as supporting the bill when it comes to the Rajya Sabha where each vote counts,” said a Left leader.

For the government, there are three options — keep re-promulgating the ordinance, let the bill get rejected by the Rajya Sabha after getting the approval of the Lok Sabha and then call a joint session, or wait for 100 working days of Parliament to convene a joint session.