Negotiations on with Govt ;all the best for passage of GST Bill : Cong

01 August, New Delhi

In an indication of a thaw with the Government on the GST Bill, the Congress while saying that consultations with the Government on the issue were still on, wished the ruling party all the best for the passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, where it is slated to come up on Wednesday.

Talking to reports here, AICC spokesperson P L Punia said,”the consultation is still on and not yet finalised. We wish the Government all the best for the passage of the Bill.”

Admitting that the GST is very important for the economy, industry, business and also for the consumer, Punia said,”we are prepared to accept every reasonable solution which does not adversely affect the business, industry and does not adversely affect the federal structure and the consumer at large.”

In this context, he said it was the Congress Party which mooted the idea of GST.”We were the ones to bring the GST Bill which was opposed by the BJP and especially today’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji. We had raised certain valid issues and the negotiations are still on,” he said.

It is notable that the Government has listed the GST Bill for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The listing of the Bill in the Upper House comes after the Government has in recent weeks reached out to the Congress party, having shown a willingness to consider its demands.

Infact, the Union Cabinet last week approved some changes in the GST Bill, which include removing one per cent additional tax in the GST Bill for manufacturing states.Among the other demands by the Congress is putting a cap of 18 per cent on the GST Tax.