GST - VAT Vs CENVAT - Centre Vs States - VAT Officers to protest Today
NOW that GST appears to be an immediate future possibility, the battle lines are being drawn on who should get what.
The IRS Association has said that the State VAT officials may not be allowed to bring distortions in GST to weaken the Centre. A strong sustainable Centre is the need of the hour.
The Central Revenue Associations on an agitation path have been persuaded by CBEC to go slow. The Superintendents' Association says that the CBEC Chairman has promised that their career prospects/manpower would in no way be affected by implementation of GST. He is also reported to have said “ the Hon'ble Finance Minister is with us. ” A meeting was called by the Member (Admn) of CBEC on 13th October with the associations and it seems a request for the minutes of the meeting was turned down on the ground that the trade & state officials as the case maybe use it to advance their cause!
But the All India Confederation of Commercial Taxes Associations (AICCTA) has a different story. They are organising a nation wide mass leave programme today and a dharna in Jantar Mantar, Delhi today where they expect thousands of Commercial Taxes officers from all the States to participate.
AICCTA President Suryanarayana told me,
We all state commercial tax departments are protesting for our legitimate demands as- central Govt through GST Council which is manned by CBEC people are diminishing our existence wrt jurisdiction of dealers, disabling cross empowerment of SGST, CGST and IGST thereby defeating the very principle of GST. This will create an environment of "No ease of doing business in India" affecting the growth of economy. We demand as per the present scenario of existing dealers within state jurisdiction around 70 lakh whereas central Govt has 16-17 lakh; so the vertical split to be in ratio of 4:1 with total cross empowerment across all three constituents of GST. The business should not be put at hardship of interface to both authorities. State taxation people are well versed with the implementation of these complicated Acts more than CBEC. CBEC are well versed with use of powers which is well known to the business houses in India and abroad. We demand ‘one nation one tax one authority' with good federal respect.
After continued meetings with Hon'ble FMs of All States, Empowered committee chairmen since last six years, and now latest with Revenue secretary of GST Council, it is understood that central government wants to push their agenda; hence we are protesting all over India as following Mass casual leave by Commercial tax department employees and a dharna at Jantarmantar in thousands of numbers of employees representing all States at Jantarmantar, Delhi and try to get them heard. If still they are not giving justice, then state government employees may boycott implementation of GST .
The Uttar Pradesh CT department employees and officers' associations have decided to boycott the joint training programme with CBEC.
The AICCTA President and General Secretary Rajani Kanth Sharma have met several State Finance and Commercial Tax Ministers and Union Ministers from States like UP, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The question is who should get how much of GST? Maybe like the GST Council vote, they should share everything in the ratio of 1:2.