 "All eyes on GST debate in Rajya Sabha")
Maharashtra government will hold a special session of the state legislature on August 29 to ratify the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill.
The state Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, here on Monday decided to recommend convening of a special session of the state legislature on August 29 to Governor C Vidyasagar Rao.
Already, Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand have ratified the amendment Bill, while Madhya Pradesh and Telangana have also announced that they will hold special sessions for the same purpose soon.
On August 10, Business Standard had reported the state government’s move to hold the special session as the winter session was slated for December 5 at Nagpur.
The Opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have decided to support the amendment Bill. As far as the Bharatiya Janata Party's ruling partner Shiv Sena is concerned, the latter wants that abolition of Octroi Duty after the introduction of GST should not hamper the finances of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Of its Rs 39,000 crore annual budget, BMC mobilises Rs 8,000 crore annually through Octroi Duty. Shiv Sena, which has supported the Constitution Amendment Bill in the Parliament, has argued that even after the Centre’s assurance for five year compensation to states, the BMC should not be starved of funds which are badly required to meet the growing infrastructure needs of Mumbai.
Further, the state government will explore enactment of a special law according to Article 243X of the Constitution of India, on inclusion of provision in the state GST to enable the direct transfer of compensation to civic bodies instead of routing it through a consolidated fund.
The Centre has set April 2017 as the deadline for the new taxation regime's rollout. The GST Bill, described as India's biggest tax reform, needs to be ratified by at least 15 state legislatures before the President can notify the GST Council — which will then decide the tax rate.
