Delhi and Madhya Pradesh Assemblies Ratify GST Bill 

Delhi and Madhya Pradesh Assemblies on Wednesday ratified the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill.

Delhi became the third non-BJP-ruled state and overall the eighth to clear the proposed tax regime, billed as single biggest tax reform in decades. The Bill was endorsed by the House by a voice vote following a brief discussion during which Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called GST a “big reform” which will be good for the country's economy and growth.

GST bill for the first time recognises Delhi as a state under the new Constitutional amendment to Art 366 - step in right direction finally.

The two BJP legislators were not present when the Bill was ratified as they had staged a walkout over a separate issue, while another party MLA was serving suspension from the House for allegedly making derogatory remarks against an AAP legislator.

Delhi's share in central taxes has been stagnant at Rs 325 crore for the last 17 years and rolling out of GST is expected to increase its share in central taxes significantly. “It's good for the entire country, not only for Delhi. It will be extremely helpful in terms of services. For the last 17 years, Delhi has been getting Rs 325 crore as its share of Central taxes despite contributing as much as Rs 1,37,000 crore to the country's GDP. GST is a big reform,” said Sisodia.

The AAP government has been supporting the Centre on the GST though both sides are locked in a bitter tussle over a range of issues for the last one-and-half years. Speaking during the brief discussion on GST, a number of AAP MLAs hailed the proposed tax regime.

The 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill has already been ratified by Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.Delhi is the third non-NDA state after Bihar and Himachal to ratify the bill.

The GST Bill, seen as single biggest tax reform in a long time, needs to be ratified by at least 15 state legislatures before the President can notify the GST council which will decide the new tax rate and other issues.The Lok Sabha had passed the GST bill on August 9 while Rajya Sabha cleared it on August 4.In his remarks, Sisodia said there were some concerns over capping the annual turnover.

There is no clarity on certain issues. Like businessmen in the capital with a turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh do not have to pay taxes. It should not be brought down. We are in favour of increasing the threshold to Rs 25 lakh. Businessmen with a turonover of up to Rs 1.5 crore should pay taxes directly to the state government

Manish Sisodia, deputy chief minister, Delhi

Sisodia said Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the GST issue on August 11.

Earlier in the day, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly unanimously ratified the Bill, with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan terming it as a process towards economic integration of the country.

Also Read: What Can Small Businesses do to Prepare For GST?

The day-long session was called and the GST Bill was unanimously ratified by the members with a voice vote after a discussion. “The House unanimously ratifies the 122nd Constitution Amendment bill,” Assembly Speaker Sitasharan Sharma said before adjourning the House sine die.

Earlier, the bill was tabled by Law and Legislative Affairs Minister Rampal Singh for ratification by the House following which Congress' acting Leader of Opposition raised the demand for discussion on alleged Simhastha scam and the grim flood situation in the state. However, the Speaker turned down their demand on the ground that the purpose of the day-long session was only to ratify the Constitution Amendment Bill on GST.

Congress members, including Bala Bachchan, Ram Niwas Rawat, Mukesh Nayak, Jai Vardhan Singh and Jeetu Patwari among others, gave various suggestions for incorporating in the bill, especially the issue of high petroleum products prices in the state because of high tax rate.

State Finance Minister Jayant Mallaiya clarified that the issue of petroleum products prices is not the subject matter of GST and it is outside its purview. Chouhan highlighted various provisions of the GST Bill and claimed that with its implementation, transparency will increase and it will check corruption effectively.

Besides, he also clarified that BJP has not taken any U-turn on the bill as charged by the Congress, and said the party wanted that states should be compensated for full five years which was accepted by the Centre. He also said after its implementation, investment will increase in the country which ultimately generates employment for the people and added that it will lead to economic integration of the country. Madhya Pradesh is the seventh state to ratify 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill, Mallaiya later told reporters.

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