Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley will meet state ministers on Tuesday to put pressure on the opposition Congress party to back a long-delayed sales tax reform whose chances have again been thrown into doubt by a parliamentary standoff.

The proposed tax reform, the biggest since India&#39;s independence from Britain in 1947, seeks to replace a slew of central taxes and levies in its 29 states, transforming the nation of 1.3 billion people into a customs union.

The current monsoon session of parliament could be the best chance for Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s government to adopt a landmark Goods and Services Tax (GST) before campaigning hots up for state elections next year.

&quot;The meeting will discuss all pending issues on GST,&quot; said finance ministry spokesman D. S. Malik. &quot;Later, the government could decide a further course of action.&quot;

Yet Congress has been angered by a central investigation launched last week against one of its former state chief ministers over a case in which party chief&nbsp;Sonia Gandhi and her son and heir apparent, Rahul Gandhi, already face trial.

Both have denied accusations of misuse of party funds, in the case brought by Subramanian Swamy, a senior politician in Modi&#39;s ruling party, over property owned by a defunct party newspaper.

&quot;I don&#39;t think the Prime Minister and his government are sincere about any constructive cooperation,&quot; Anand Sharma, a senior Congress lawmaker in the upper house of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, told the Indian Express newspaper.

&quot;And in this vitiated environment, there is no cooperation possible between the Congress and the government,&quot; Sharma said, in comments echoed by senior party sources to Reuters on Monday.

With 60 members, Congress is the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha, whose members total 245. With the support of allies and a few regional parties that oppose the bill, it reckons the government cannot muster the two-thirds majority needed for a key amendment to enact the GST.

Modi&#39;s party, which lacks a majority in the Rajya Sabha, had reached out to Congress to end its opposition to the GST bill, stalled in parliament for years.

Congress signalled until last week it could support the GST bill if the government agreed to cap the tax rate at about 18 per cent, even if this was not initially anchored in the law.

Jaitley has resisted capping the tax rate, winning backing from a growing number of state governments, and still hopes to pass the GST measure in the monsoon session that ends on August 13, and turn India into a single market for the first time. 
 
(Reuters) 
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Congress signalled until last week it could support the GST bill if the government agreed to cap the tax rate at about 18 per cent

Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley will meet state ministers on Tuesday to put pressure on the opposition Congress party to back a long-delayed sales tax reform whose chances have again been thrown into doubt by a parliamentary standoff. The proposed tax reform, the biggest since India's independence from Britain in 1947, seeks to replace a slew of central taxes and levies in its 29 states, transforming the nation of 1.3 billion people into a customs union. The current monsoon session of parliament could be the best chance for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to adopt a landmark Goods and Services Tax (GST) before campaigning hots up for state elections next year. "The meeting will discuss all pending issues on GST," said finance ministry spokesman D. S. Malik. "Later, the government could decide a further course of action." Yet Congress has been angered by a central investigation launched last week against one of its former state chief ministers over a case in which party chief Sonia Gandhi and her son and heir apparent, Rahul Gandhi, already face trial. Both have denied accusations of misuse of party funds, in the case brought by Subramanian Swamy, a senior politician in Modi's ruling party, over property owned by a defunct party newspaper. "I don't think the Prime Minister and his government are sincere about any constructive cooperation," Anand Sharma, a senior Congress lawmaker in the upper house of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, told the Indian Express newspaper. "And in this vitiated environment, there is no cooperation possible between the Congress and the government," Sharma said, in comments echoed by senior party sources to Reuters on Monday. With 60 members, Congress is the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha, whose members total 245. With the support of allies and a few regional parties that oppose the bill, it reckons the government cannot muster the two-thirds majority needed for a key amendment to enact the GST. Modi's party, which lacks a majority in the Rajya Sabha, had reached out to Congress to end its opposition to the GST bill, stalled in parliament for years. Congress signalled until last week it could support the GST bill if the government agreed to cap the tax rate at about 18 per cent, even if this was not initially anchored in the law. Jaitley has resisted capping the tax rate, winning backing from a growing number of state governments, and still hopes to pass the GST measure in the monsoon session that ends on August 13, and turn India into a single market for the first time. (Reuters)

India's finance minister to seek opposition support for Goods and Services Tax bill

The monsoon session of the Indian parliament began on Monday, amid government&#39;s effort to push through major reform bills including the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the Rajya Sabha, upper house of the parliament. 
 
Ahead of the session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that all should work together in this session to take the country forward. 
 
Modi had on Sunday reached out to the opposition parties to ensure passage of the GST bill while urging all to keep national interests above other issues. Speaker of the Lok Sabha, lower house of the parliament, Sumitra Mahajan also expressed hope that the house would function smoothly without any adjournments. 
 
Buoyed by the restoration of its governments in two states - Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand - the Congress party is likely to target the Modi supporters for &quot;using all tricks&quot; to destabilise opposition-ruled states. 
 
The Congress, which originally piloted the GST bill, has said it is still in favour of the same. The changes it has demanded include putting a cap of 18 per cent on GST rate in the constitution amendment bill. 
 
Of the 10 bills expected to come up in the Lok Sabha during the 20-day sittings are the Consumer Protection Bill 2015, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill 2015, and the Lok Pal and Lokayuktas and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Bill. 
 
A total of 25 bills are expected to come up for passing and consideration during the session. 
 
(DNA webdesk)

Prime Minister Modi has appealed to the opposition for smooth functioning of the house and keep national interests above others

The monsoon session of the Indian parliament began on Monday, amid government's effort to push through major reform bills including the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the Rajya Sabha, upper house of the parliament. Ahead of the session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that all should work together in this session to take the country forward. Modi had on Sunday reached out to the opposition parties to ensure passage of the GST bill while urging all to keep national interests above other issues. Speaker of the Lok Sabha, lower house of the parliament, Sumitra Mahajan also expressed hope that the house would function smoothly without any adjournments. Buoyed by the restoration of its governments in two states - Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand - the Congress party is likely to target the Modi supporters for "using all tricks" to destabilise opposition-ruled states. The Congress, which originally piloted the GST bill, has said it is still in favour of the same. The changes it has demanded include putting a cap of 18 per cent on GST rate in the constitution amendment bill. Of the 10 bills expected to come up in the Lok Sabha during the 20-day sittings are the Consumer Protection Bill 2015, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill 2015, and the Lok Pal and Lokayuktas and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Bill. A total of 25 bills are expected to come up for passing and consideration during the session. (DNA webdesk)

Tax bill in focus as monsoon session of Indian parliament begins

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