GST Truck fails to clear first check post - to be delayed by one year?
IN April 2015, , detailed 11 stages to be cleared in 11 months for GST to be implemented. And the first step was to get the Constitution Amendment Bill passed in both houses of Parliament. Then a Netizen told me it would take 11 years to clear the 11 stages. Today after four months, we have not crossed the first stage.
Yesterday the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted,
The importance of GST need not be overstated. It converts the whole country into one economic market. It facilitates the smooth and seamless transfer of goods and services. It reduces harassment and corruption. It mandates a uniform tax regime. It eliminates ‘Tax on Tax'. It adds buoyancy to tax revenue and has a favourable impact on the GDP. The GST has received consistent support from most mainstream parties. The Congress / UPA government announced this idea in 2006 and it introduced the Bill in 2011. Today, it seeks to go back on the GST. The objections in the Congress Party's dissent note are contradictory and trivial. The Parliamentary numbers are loaded against the Congress. It, therefore, relies on disturbance and lung power to prevent its consideration by the Rajya Sabha. The Congress is well aware that any delay in passage of the Constitution Amendment which has been accepted by most States will result in at least one year's delay. That appears to be the Congress' strategy. National interest is least on its priority.
May be there is something wrong with the type of Government we have - perhaps a Presidential form of Government would have reduced the costs and increased governance.