GST cannot wait more

Given that the Government has kept the window open to convene a special session of Parliament to consider and adopt the Goods and Services Tax Bill, it should do so at the earliest because time is critical here. The Government is keen to kick in the GST regime by next year, but the implementation has to be preceded by a host of formalities. To begin with — and this is the first task — Parliament has to approve the Constitution (122nd) Amendment Bill, 2014, which is the enabling legislation that will set in motion the other constitutional requirements such as the adoption by 50 per cent of the State Assemblies etc.

The matter has been hanging fire for almost a decade now, and many had expected the amendment Bill to be passed by the Rajya Sabha in the Monsoon Session (the lok Sabha has already cleared it). Unfortunately, the obstructionist conduct of the Congress ensured that the Bill could not proceed beyond the introduction stage in the Upper House. That the party kept politics above national interest is obvious from that it disallowed the House's functioning even on the day the Bill came up for introduction. What is ironical is that the Congress is the original author of the proposed legislation and that the party had in the final years it was in power, pushed for its adoption. That it could not succeed was because it had failed to strike a consensus on its many provisions among the various States, including those ruled by it or its allies. Those creases were ironed out once the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance assumed power a little over a year ago. After all this, the Congress has problems with sections of the Bill. In the first place, the party should know that the final shape of the Bill came after hectic consultations with and acceptance of members of bipartisan parliamentary panels that have studied the Bill. Even so, if the Congress had reservations, it could have raised them during the discussion on the floor of the House that would have ensued, had it allowed the Bill to be taken up. 

The Congress knows how critical this legislation is for the country's economic well-being. It has been estimated that the GST regime has the potential to add some two per cent to the country's gross domestic product growth and revolutionise economic activity. The party needs no lesson from others; its own leaders including former Minister for Finance P Chidambaram have repeatedly emphasised the need to frame a GST law and implement it at the earliest. The more time that is wasted here, the more it extracts by way of economic growth. By seeking to sabotage the Bill, the party has added credibility to the accusation that it wants to sabotage the India growth story.

It is to be hoped that the Government will have done its homework well in case it decides to call a special session to pass the GST amendment Bill. Barring the Congress (and to some extent the left), no other political party has major issues with the GST. Floor managers of the BJP must win over the support of non-Congress parties. It is possible that, after isolating the Congress and the left, the ruling combine will have the adequate numbers in the Upper House to endorse the amendments.