Union Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha is hopeful of the GST Bill being passed in the winter session of Parliament.
Amid opposition from the Congress party on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha today expressed hope that it would be passed soon as the government is willing to consider the suggestions being made and will find "some common ground for everyone".
"We are in continuous consultation with our colleagues in Parliament. Our hope very much is that we will be able to get GST passed. Whatever reasonable suggestions are made from our colleague in opposition, we are absolutely willing to consider it," he said.
As far as the additional one per cent tax in the GST regime is concerned, he said there have been many opinions voiced on the issue. It has become a key point in the debate on GST.
"We have to find a solution that is acceptable to all stakeholders... We have to find some common ground for everyone," Mr Sinha said.
Yesterday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu claimed that of the total 32 parties represented at the all-party meet, 30 were in favour of the legislation and wanted its early passage.
GST, which will subsume more than a dozen state levies to create a single market, is to be implemented from April 1, 2016. A Constitution Amendment Bill could not go through the Rajya Sabha in the last session of Parliament due to opposition from Congress.
The April 1 deadline may be missed if Parliament does not pass the Bill in the ongoing Winter Session from November 26 to December 23.
Once the Bill is passed, more than half of the states have to ratify it before Parliament passes another enabling bill to implement GST.
With regard to non-performing assets (NPAs), Mr Sinha said it is an area that the government has been intensively analyzing and very vigilant in that regard.
"NPAs are result of many factors. There is not one silver bullet that is going to deal with the NPAs that we have in the banking system. It will require us to take a multi-dimensional approach," he said.
On the issue of reviewing some of the provisions of gold monetisation scheme so that it becomes attractive, Mr Sinha said the government is in continuous discussion with all stakeholders and trying to find out difficulties.