GST: Govt’s Speed In Pushing Legislation Through Leaves India Inc Flatfooted

As this piece is being written, the Odisha Assembly is in the process of ratifying the 122nd Constitutional Amendment Bill on the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Once Odisha passes the bill, it will land up on the desk of the President, who will sign the bill into law. Fifteen states have already ratified the Bill.

The GST council will then be set up within 60 days of the President’s assent. The Union government is planning to advance the winter and budget sessions of Parliament so that the 1 April 2017 deadline is met. Meanwhile, the government has initiated the consultation process on such aspects as GST rates and exceptions with all the stakeholders.

What’s interesting is that for once the industry seems stumped by the speed at which the government has moved on a piece of legislation. Chandrajit Banerjee, who is Director General of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), seemed to suggest today in an article in the Times of India that the industry may be slower off the mark with GST preparations.

But the GST is not something that the government has pulled out of a hat. It’s been in the pipeline for a decade. So, the obvious question is, why is industry, which cheered the GST for years, now asking for more time? Why did it not prepare adequately for it until now? Did it not expect the GST to be passed at all?

Banerjee also threw in a few ifs and buts. He pointed to the various tax incentives that the central and state governments had offered to industries to encourage investments in places like the North East and Jammu & Kashmir. He is batting for such exemptions to continue in the GST regime too.

But such state-specific or industry-specific exemptions would defeat the GST’s central idea of ‘one nation, one tax’. The same chaps who were clamouring for this idea are now talking of exemptions. Or is the industry getting cold feet now that the GST is so close to reality?

As they say: be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

Also Read:

India Inc Has Work To Do On GST; Some May Have To Tweak Business Models

How To Keep GST Rate Down: Exempt None, And Pay Everyone Rs 1,000 P.A.