West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra hopes for GST consensus among states

KOLKATA: Passage of the GST bill could be the single-most important agenda for the government in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament. The battle for Modi government's GST now rests with Bengal’s finance minister Amit Mitra.

Mitra, who was named the new chairman of the empowered committee of state finance ministers in February, told ET that GST was good for the country and the state. The economist-turned-politician looked confident of forging a “consensus among states through discussions”.

During his recent visit to Kolkata Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had said: “Dr Mitra is the chairman of the empowered committee on GST. So, implementation of GST is his responsibility as much as mine.”

Mitra said: “The empowered committee would strive for a consensus among the states.” Sources said the committee is expected to meet before the monsoon session next month depending on the availability of finance ministers of states. Mitra said Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee was among the first politicians to realise the benefits of GST. Trinamool had sought a five-year guarantee from the Centre for compensating for revenue losses incurred by states following GST implementation.