Srinagar: With Kerala approving the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Act on Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir remains the only state yet to pass the legislation ahead of the July 1 launch of the pan-India tax regime. Meanwhile two Kashmir trading bodies Kashmir Traders & Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) and Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry have in their statement opposed the implementation of GST in the state.
“All states and union territories, except Jammu and Kashmir, have approved the SGST Act and are ready for the smooth roll-out of Goods and Services Tax (GST) with effect from July 1,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement here.
Kerala issued an ordinance on Wednesday approving the State GST Act while West Bengal had issued the relevant ordinance on June 15.
“Thus, almost the entire country, including 30 states and union territories, is now on board and ready for the GST,” the Finance Ministry said.
Meanwhile Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation President Muhammad Yasin Khan has said the sinister designs behind this controversy were getting exposed with each passing day.
In a statement Khan said if the government was honest in implementation of the GST, it should have come up with the amended version of the GST for the state of Jammu and Kashmir and put the same in public domain.
“But the reality is that to please some hidden masters the government has been issuing contradictory statements as was visible today in news reports that senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Beg has distanced himself from the all party committee on holding consultations for extending GST to the state,” Khan said.
In an appeal to the business community of Jammu, Khan said it was time to be united for the cause of the state and its special status. “Let’s not look at timely monetary benefits but towards the safeguarding of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by virtue of Article 370.”
“The conspiracy behind the GST plot is evident from the fact that the government which hosted All India GST meet in Srinagar was least concerned towards the interests of the state,” Khan said.
He said as of now the trade community has been pushed to confusion on how to trade with outside state business parties thereby resulting in loss of business which is already in struggling state.
He appealed Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to make her stand clear in black and white.
Another trading body Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Inc) has also resolved that it would not allow the implementation of GST in the State in its present form as it compromises the financial autonomy and special status of the State and for that purpose Chamber will take all the measures at its command to prevent its implementation.
The Executive Committee of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Inc) organized an interactive meeting with prominent members of Civil Society on the implication of Goods & Services Tax in the State of Jammu & Kashmir on Wednesday. The meeting was presided over by KCCI President Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad Wani.
The Chamber demanded that the State Government should come out and put in public domain the proposed draft GST bill for public opinion.
The KCCI demanded that it being an important stakeholder should be given an opportunity to put forward its point of view on the issue before the committee of legislators recently constituted for discussing GST legislation.
The alternate measures to be taken by the Government from July 1 next month when GST law will be rolled out in other states needs to be spelt out without wasting any time.
The members of the civil society who participated in the meeting include Justice (rtd) Hassnain Masoodi, Mr. Mohammad Shafi Pandit, Mr.G.R.Sofi, Mrs. Anuradha Bhasin, Mrs. Nusrat Andrabi.
