Ready to support GST if suggestions accepted: Cong

New Delhi :Congress today claimed in the Rajya Sabha that the “real opposition” to the long-pending GST bill was coming from within the government and that the main opposition was ready to give full support to it provided its three key recommendations are accepted.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also questioned the credibility of the current GDP growth figure of 7.6 per cent, claiming that nobody believes these numbers as they are “suspicious”.

The Congress member insisted that his party wants GST and that it was ready to give full support to the government if its three suggestions are incorporated in the bill.

“We have three suggestions. One is setting up of independent committee to adjudicate disputes, elimination of one per cent tax and introduction of capping …If consensus on these three is arrived, we are ready to support,” he said.

The GST bill, which proposes to overhaul the indirect tax regime, has been pending in the Rajya Sabha   because of resistance mainly by the Congress which wants changes in it.

On capping upper limit for GST, Ramesh said the government says this cannot be accepted as there is no provision in the Constitution for this purpose. But the Article 276 (2) provides for capping and “with creative use of language” the government can accomodate.

Referring to a media report that said some section in the government believes that GST is undesirable, the former Minister said, “the real opposition to GST is not coming from the Congress, it is coming from within the government.”

He attacked the government for using Congress as “smoke screen” for the current situation of GST.

@Agency report.