Davos, Swiss Alps: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley dismissed the Congress party's demand that the cap on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) be specified in the Constitutional amendment bill as "preposterous." He was speaking at a discussion organised by NDTV at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Nowhere in the world are tariffs mentioned in the statute, he said. "Three new propositions are now raised (by Congress) including a preposterous one that tariff must be mentioned in the Constitution of India. Now if they can tell me that anywhere else in the world this happens that tariffs are mentioned in Constitution," Mr Jaitley said, addressing a gathering that included among others, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath.
"So every time there is a drought, flood and you need to increase the tax rate, you have to first go to all states in India to change the tax rate. This is something which is just not possible," he said.
Mr Jaitley said that the GST bill was "in one sense more of a Congress party bill that they had done the spade work for."
Mr Nath, a former commerce and industry minister in the Congress-led UPA, defended his party's objections to the bill tabled by the Modi government. "I hope they say we accept the cap, but not in the constitution...The only thing is how to frame it," he said. The Congress has opposed a one per cent levy by producing states, something that Mr Jaitley said the NDA will accept.
"GST is certainly going to come. I have already conveyed to Congress leaders that I am willing to go to the states for the one per cent thing. I have privately conveyed that and I have no hesitation in admitting that publicly," the Finance Minister said.
