Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday dissolved the state Vigilance Commission by “unanimously” passing a Bill, tabled by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann saying that the anti-graft panel was not serving any useful purpose except being a burden on the state exchequer.
Besides giving nod to The Punjab State Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022, the House also passed two other bills to tackle the evasion of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and making gram panchayats the exclusive owner of the common village land amidst the string protest by the Congress legislators, who were seeking the dismissal and arrest of Cabinet Minister Fauja Singh Sarari over an alleged “extortion” audio clip.
Notably, the Capt Amarinder Singh led Punjab Government had, in October 2020, set up the Commission under The Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act, 2020, to check corruption among the state's public servants. The body was headed by the Chief Vigilance Commissioner.
Moving the Bill, the Chief Minister said that the State’s Commission Act suffers from serious deviations. “The Vigilance Commission was not serving any useful objective except being a burden on the exchequer as there are multiple agencies to deal with the same issues and same set stakeholders, including full-fledged Vigilance Department,” he said, adding that to avoid overlapping, contradictory findings, resultant delays, and gaps in communication, it has become necessary to repeal The Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act, 2020.
Mann also added that the Punjab State Vigilance Commission, set up under this Act, has not achieved the desired objectives; and the decision has been taken in the larger public interest of the residents of the state.
Punjab goods and services tax (amendment) bill, 2022
Moving The Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the tax evaders will now be dealt with severely. To check the menace of bogus billing and fraudulent input tax credit, an amendment has been made to empower the State Government to restrict availing of the input tax credit by the taxpayer. The amendment will provide for furnishing of details of outward supplies as a condition for furnishing returns to check the menace of bogus billing and fraudulent input tax credit and to improve compliance.
“A fee has been introduced for late filing of statements by taxpayers who are tax collectors such as e-commerce operators to improve compliance,” he said, adding that the amendment will also ensure levying of interest only on input tax credit availed and utilized. “To facilitate ease of doing business, time period for availment of ITC has been extended to thirtieth day of November following the end of the financial year in which the supply is carried out, or furnishing of the relevant annual return, whichever is earlier,” he added.
The Punjab village common lands (regulations) amendment bill, 2022
Tabling The Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulations) Amendment Bill, 2022, the state Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that by amending the previous Bill, the gram panchayats will be exclusive owner of the common village land. The amendment would bring clarity that the land kept reserved for common purposes during the consolidation titled as ‘Jumla Mustarka Malkan’ is also ‘Shamlat Deh’ as defined in section 2(g) of Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act 1961.
Mann lashes out at cong for wasting house's time
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday slammed the Congress legislators for their “irresponsible behavior” at the floor of the House. The Chief Minister, taking the Congress to cudgels, said that the Congress leaders have wasted the House’s precious time by frequent disruptions. “These leaders have mercilessly wasted the taxpayers money by creating ruckus during the House proceedings,” said Mann lamenting that the session could have been used judiciously for discussing the various issues pertaining to the people of Punjab and the State.