Assembly passes amendments in GST Act amid walkout
PC, PDP’s protest influenced by ‘WhatsApp University’
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 25: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said today that Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory and mere changing the words in legislation will not serve the purpose as he asserted that his Government has taken series of initiatives with New Delhi to get back Statehood and expressed confidence that they will get it.
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Omar responded after People’s Conference MLA Sajjad Gani Lone and PDP legislator Waheed ur Rehman Parra said the use of words ‘Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir’ in Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, which had been taken up for discussion and pass motion in the Legislative Assembly, will legitimize J&K as a UT.
Sajjad Lone also staged walkout from the House.
“Whether we like it or not but we are a UT. In the Finance bill, we have mentioned words Consolidate Fund of UT of J&K. We have taken oath as UT MLA. We contested the Assembly election of a UT. The budget has been passed as budget of UT of J&K. Mere replacing the words with Government of J&K will not make any change,” the Chief Minister said.
The change, he said, will come when we get the Statehood back from the Parliament for which the Government has been making all out efforts.
“In the very first Cabinet meeting a resolution was passed for restoration of Statehood and I personally handed it over to the Prime Minister. When the PM visited Sonamarg, I stressed for Statehood in my speech. In every meeting in New Delhi, I have been saying that the UT is not acceptable to us,” Omar said.
Asserting that a wrong has been done by making Jammu and Kashmir a UT, he said we are unfortunate to have the UT but expressed confidence that we will get back the Statehood. “As long as we are a UT, let us not do politics on it,” he added.
“This happens very frequently when we rely entirely on WhatsApp for information. The WhatsApp forward that my honourable colleague received – based on which a member also staged a brief walkout – is something we have all seen. This message attempts to create the false impression that if this bill is passed, Jammu and Kashmir will become a Union Territory,” Omar said referring to Lone and Parra’s objections
Rejecting the opposition’s objections over terminology in the appropriation bills, he questioned, “Now, if we pass this bill and refer to it as an amendment to the government of Jammu and Kashmir, what changes? If we pass the Appropriation Bill for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, what difference does it make? If I remove the term ‘Union Territory’, will our status change? No, it will not.”
Responding to the walkout, the CM said just because they mentioned ‘Union Territory’, it did not change anything. Unfortunately, until Parliament of India restores Statehood, J-K will remain a UT, he said.
“We have to get back statehood to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Inshallah, we will restore it. Removing the word ‘UT’ will not change our reality. This Government governs as a Union Territory,” he said.
Taking a dig at the opposition, Omar said, “Staging a walkout for the cameras and claiming ‘I am not part of this crime’ does not change the fact that the crime has already been committed against us.”
Omar said if we were not a Union Territory, demand number two, which has been passed just now, would have been open to discussion.
Emphasizing that the grants were passed without discussion, he added: “These were grants of the Home Department. They were passed without any discussion and without any cut motions, because we are a Union Territory.”
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather also clarified that there are two Acts of GST-Central GST and State GST (CGST and SGST) and certain amendments have been carried out in both the Acts since 2017 which are being incorporated through amendments in the Act in J&K.
“These Acts are not confined to Jammu and Kashmir but are applicable across the country,” Rather said.
However, Sajjad Lone staged a walkout in the Assembly saying passing of the legislation will mean ratification of Jammu and Kashmir as a UT by the House. “I don’t want to become part of it,” he said and walked out.
PDP MLAs Fayyaz Mir and Waheed ur Rehman Parra also raised their objections.
After Omar’s speech, the Assembly passed the bill to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017.
The first bill of the budget session (amendments in GST) by the National Conference-led Government was introduced on Saturday.
The amendments in GST Act will bring online money gaming, casinos and horse racing under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the rate of 28 percent in Jammu and Kashmir at par with rest of the country.
Presently, the GST was applicable on betting, gambling and lottery.
The 50th GST Council meeting had recommended 28 percent GST on online money gaming, casinos and horse racing on face value, 28 percent GST on both skill-based and chance based online games (including fantasy sports, casinos and other forms on online gambling) and 28 percent GST on the total value of the consideration received in online gaming (earlier it was on margin money/platform fee at the rate of 18 percent on skill based online games) i.e. 28 percent GST on initial purchase of casino chips.
Earlier for a game of skill such as e-sports, puzzles and some card games, 18 percent GST was chargeable only on the platform’s commission/service fee or on gross gaming revenue. For a game of chance, including gambling at casinos, 28 percent GST was chargeable on the total bet value. Now, 28 percent GST will be charged on full face value on online gaming, casinos and horse racing.
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