Congress seeks wider consultations on changes in GST law, e-way bills

NEW DELHI: On the eve of the GST Council meeting which is expected to make some major changes in the GST law, Manpreet Badal, finance minister of Congress-ruled Punjab, has said that Congress finance ministers in the Council will seek more consultations with stakeholders for a greater clarity rather than rush with “piece-meal changes”.

He also expressed Congress’ opposition to the government’s plan to introduce E-way Bills “without adequate preparation”. Congress will also renew its demand for bringing petroleum products and real estate under the purview of GST.

Maintaining that Modi government’s proposed objective of introducing GST has failed, Badal said, “GDP has fallen, revenues have shown an alarming dip, inflation has risen, and there’s furore relating to complexities in compliances.”


Badal also claimed that the proposed changes in the GST law were being brought in by the government without any proper discussions.

“If one looks at the sheer number of changes after July, it would be clear that the revisions and concessions have exceeded the original. I’m told that the number of changes now being proposed in the law itself are so enormous that it clearly reflect that GST was brought in a hurry without understanding the peculiarities of India. “I have not attended a single meeting of the GST Council so far where the agenda papers ran into a few hundreds.”