[New Delhi]Swamy Chants GSTN Mantra And Ask PM To Replace It With Govt-Owned Entity
Dr Subramaniun Swamy Chants GSTN Mantra And Ask PM To Replace This Pvt Entity Of Rs 4k Cr With Govt Owned One
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has raised strong objections to a majority stake for private entities in the company formed during UPA to manage and control the accounting and collection of GST and has urged the Prime Minister to ensure that it is replaced by a government-owned structure.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swamy asked him to subject Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) to a “close second look” and “thorough scrutiny”, questioning how a private entitity can be allowed access to “sensitive” information without security clearance.
Referring to ownership details of the GSTN company, that will manage and control the accounting and tax collection of GST, he said central and state governments will jointly have only 49 per cent stake in it and rest with private entities like
HDFC Bank,
ICICI Bank and
LIC Housing Finance Limited, that have foreign shareholding.
Alleging that GSTN has “appropriated” around Rs 4,000 crores in expenses and fees for its preliminary exercises, he asked why “private profit making entities have any stake, and that too majority stake” in a Section 25 company, which is a not-for-profit organization.
“The most significant player it is obvious, in this tax collection effort should be the one who generates data collection. In this case, that would be the central and state Governments.
“Everything else such as adjusting the percentage of GST for various states are just a matter of programming, which could be done by the Government itself through its Department of Electronics.
After all, Government has already codified Income Tax.
Nothing can be more complicated than that!,” Swamy said in his letter to Modi.
He said the Home Ministry has not even been consulted and neither approved GSTN operators security clearance to allow them access to tax data.
“In fact that it was never placed before Home Ministry for security clearance is shocking,” he said.
“There is still time to put the right Government owned structure in place. Meantime GSTN has appropriated nearly Rs.
4000 crores in expenses and fees for its preliminary exercises Hence, I urge you to subject GSTN to a close second look and thorough scrutiny,” Swamy, is a Rajya Sabha MP,
Tag: GST
Swamy Chants GSTN Mantra And Ask PM To Replace It With Govt-Owned Entity
RS’s 53 Members Retires:Parl Budget Session Ends Without GST:PM Rues
[New Delhi]RS’s 53 Members Retires:Parliament Budget Session Ends Without GST:PM Rues
PM rued RS not passing GST, said states would have benefited
As Parliament session ended without passing the landmark GST bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today rued the Rajya Sabha not approving the biggest indirect tax reform measure since independence, saying states stood to benefit the most from it.
The Prime Minister, who spoke in the Upper House as it bid farewell to 53 retiring MPs, noted that Rajya Sabha members are representatives of the states and the interest of their state should be a priority for them.
While important reform measures were passed, “it would have been better if two critical decisions had also been approved,” he said, referring to Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
“Bihar would benefit from GST, Uttar Pradesh would benefit from GST. Barring one or two states, all states would have benefited from GST,” he said.
Opposition from Congress over key clauses including cap on the tax rate had stalled its passage in the Upper House.
Lok Sabha has already approved the constitutional amendment but it remains pending in Rajya Sabha, where the ruling NDA does not have a majority.
Modi said the second crucial legislation was the one to create CAMPA
“States would have got Rs 42,000 crore if we had decided on the legislation,” he said, adding each state would have got Rs 2000-3000 crore.
“We will have to wait for 4-5 months now,” he said, ruing that the move beneficial to states has been left out.
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