No Budget; No GST; No DTC - but enough tinkering with taxing provisions
AS Parliament is meeting for the last session of the 15th Lok Sabha, it is assured that there will be no Budget in February and that GST and DTC (Direct Taxes Code) are forgotten concepts at least until 2015. But there is no guarantee that there will be no taxing changes. According to the FM, short of amending the Customs Act, CE Act, Income Tax Act, Finance Act 1994 - he can bring in any changes and he seems to be planning to bring in those changes - most probably they will be good ones - after all his party has an election to fight if not to win.
Maybe he can give a few clarificatory notifications to the effect that:
1. Works contract was not taxable prior to 1.6.2007
2. Certain services provided to the State (like water supply projects) are (and were always) exempted from Service Tax.
3. There will be no coercive action during pendency of appeals.
4. VCES declarants will not be targeted for attack.
5. When goods are sold at a loss, the price will be accepted as transaction value.
6. Service Tax on GTA for outward transport will be allowed as input service ...
The FM said his speech would be between 12 and 18 pages - what is important is whether those pages will have manna or hemlock.
This is the last session of the present Lok Sabha - will PC be in the Lok Sabha and if he is in, will he be the FM?
Arun Jaitley says,
Finally my friend Mr P Chidambaram, the Union Finance Minister appears to be planning life after the North Block. He is an extremely competent lawyer. Parliament's loss will be Supreme Court's gain.
From the kind of statements he is making and the academic questions he is posing to his opponents, I suspect that he is practising to get back to column writing. I am sure his columns will make an excellent reading.
"People who have faith in the future get loans" - P. Chidambaram