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Congress reaches out to Sonia for support to GST, wants early Parliament session

by IBNS 06 Jan 2016, 10:52 pm

New Delhi, Jan 7 (IBNS) In a bid to salvage the future of the national Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Narendra Modi government on Thursday reached out to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, seeking her support to the Bill and offering to call an early parliament session, reports said.

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu met with  Gandhi at her residence and said the government is willing to accommodate her party's demands on the proposed reform, which aims at bringing in a one tax regime to create a unified market place.

The Congress has so far refused to back the "flawed" GST, demanding lower rates and a simpler structure.

It wants the government to cap the rate of GST at less than 20 per cent, scrap a proposed state levy and create an independent mechanism to resolve disputes on revenue sharing between states.

The  the new tax, expected to bring in order in the existing chaotic structure,  has been languishing in Parliament for a year.

The budget session of Parliament is meant to begin in last week of February. But the government wants an early start, hoping to meet the April 1 deadline for a nationwide launch of the sales tax.