<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening held discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, in a first such initiative that was seen as an indication of thaw in the standoff over Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in Parliament.<br /><br /></p>.<p>That the ice has been broken between the NDA government and the Congress was evident when AICC spokesman Anand Sharma described the 45-minute meeting as “constructive” and the Opposition party would hold “internal discussions” on the issue.<br /><br />The Modi government has been facing flak for the slow pace of economic reforms and the delay in roll-out of the GST. Both Modi and Jaitley have, on several occasions, asserted that they were keen to implement the GST bill from April 1 next year, a deadline that appears to have forced them to make peace with the Opposition.<br /><br />Manmohan Singh listed out Congress’s concerns over the bill that has been hanging fire in Parliament since May.<br /><br />Singh told Modi that the Congress wanted abolition of 1 per cent additional tax, a cap on GST rate at 18 per cent and creation of a separate dispute settlement mechanism. <br />The government has been maintaining that it would be difficult to mention the cap on the GST rate in the bill as it would require a constitutional amendment to alter it in the future.<br /> On the additional one per cent tax, the government felt it was necessary to reimburse manufacturing states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.<br /><br />It was agreed that the Congress and the Modi government would establish “fresh contact” after discussing the issue with their leaders.<br /><br />Modi also directed Venkaiah Naidu to be in touch with Congress leaders in Parliament.<br /></p>
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening held discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, in a first such initiative that was seen as an indication of thaw in the standoff over Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in Parliament.<br /><br /></p>.<p>That the ice has been broken between the NDA government and the Congress was evident when AICC spokesman Anand Sharma described the 45-minute meeting as “constructive” and the Opposition party would hold “internal discussions” on the issue.<br /><br />The Modi government has been facing flak for the slow pace of economic reforms and the delay in roll-out of the GST. Both Modi and Jaitley have, on several occasions, asserted that they were keen to implement the GST bill from April 1 next year, a deadline that appears to have forced them to make peace with the Opposition.<br /><br />Manmohan Singh listed out Congress’s concerns over the bill that has been hanging fire in Parliament since May.<br /><br />Singh told Modi that the Congress wanted abolition of 1 per cent additional tax, a cap on GST rate at 18 per cent and creation of a separate dispute settlement mechanism. <br />The government has been maintaining that it would be difficult to mention the cap on the GST rate in the bill as it would require a constitutional amendment to alter it in the future.<br /> On the additional one per cent tax, the government felt it was necessary to reimburse manufacturing states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.<br /><br />It was agreed that the Congress and the Modi government would establish “fresh contact” after discussing the issue with their leaders.<br /><br />Modi also directed Venkaiah Naidu to be in touch with Congress leaders in Parliament.<br /></p>
