Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to first allay the fears of the States’ on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) issue, go in for consensus and then consider the GST Bill’s adoption.
“The Centre must ensure that the States’ fears are allayed and a true consensus is achieved before such a far-reaching reform is attempted,” Mr. Panneerselvam said in a letter to Mr. Modi.
“I strongly urge you against hustling through the Constitutional Amendment Bill hastily as such a move is bound to have serious long-term implications for the fiscal autonomy and revenue position of the States,” he said.
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The Centre’s proposal to introduce a Constitutional Amendment Bill on GST and then to evolve a consensus on its various aspects like tax rates and bands was not acceptable to Tamil Nadu, he said.
“We would rather suggest that the Centre should permit the empowered committee of State Finance Ministers to try and evolve a broad consensus on the critical issues before the enactment of the Bill is taken up.”