Live Updates: Rajya Sabha passes GST Bill

The Rajya Sabha today set the stage for the roll-out of a uniform goods and services tax with the initiation of the debate on the The Constitution (122nd Amendment).

The Lok Sabha passed the GST Bill in May, 2015, after which it was referred to a 21-member Select Committee in the Rajya Sabha, which submitted its report in July 2015.

Live Updates:

9:01 pm: Rajya Sabha passes GST Bill

Voting on GST bill in Rajya Sabha

Kapil Sibbal says:

8:56 pm: it is quite clear that he(Arun Jaitley) wants to bring it as a money bill and doesn't want a discussion in the house

P Chidambaram says:

8:51 pm: you(Arun Jaitley) are not obliged to bring any bill as Money Bill

Arun Jaitley says:

8:50 pm: cannot assure; it would be irrational

8:48 pm: have no intentions of bypassing the constitutional provisions

P Chidambaram says:

8:47 pm: please ensure that the bill will be brought as a Finance Bill and not as a Money Bill

8:47 pm: it is a unanimous demand that CGST and IGST bill should not be brought as Money Bill

AIADMK not participating in the voting

Jaitley continues:

8:30 pm:

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram points out that drafting of the bill is clumsy

Arun Jaitley replies to GST Bill debate. He says:

8:27 pm: the original bill in 2011

8:15 pm: can't exclude Centre from Tax policy

8:10 pm: there will be no cascading effect of tax on tax

8:08 pm: this law will be made on the advice of the GST council

Anand Sharma says:

7:45 pm: we cannot let the tax rate to be left at any government's choice. It should be specified

7:42 pm: Without mentioning any tax rate in the law no tax can be imposed

7:37 pm: CM Modi became PM Modi and his stand for GST also flipped

7:35 pm: BJP widely opposed the GST will when the party was in opposition, and it was lead by Narendra Modi himself

7:35 pm: GST is an effort to reduce indirect taxes

7:33 pm: GST was a historic decision by the Congress

7:32: how will tax revenue be collected?

7:30 pm: people of India are burdened with taxes which should be reduced

Prem Chand Gupta says:

7:19 pm: I want the Finance Minister to ensure that the bill will not lead to inflation

7:19 pm: what are the efforts to take care of regional imbalance?

Ram Kumar Kashyap says:

7:15 pm: I doubt that Haryana being an agricultural state will face huge losses if the bill is passed. Will the Central government compensate for the losses?

Sanjay Raut says:

7:07 pm: I request Finance Minister to create a special status for Mumbai

7:05 pm: who will compensate the loss that Municipal Corporations will face. It is not profitable specially for Mumbai

7:00 pm: once it is passed no one knows what would be the content and implication of Central GST and State GST.

6:59 pm: how to maintain the fiscal federal structure needs to be answered

6:57 pm: it is important that we understand the future if the bill is passed

Narendra Budania says:

6:37 pm: I support the bill

6:35 pm: I am worried about the local bodies

6:34 pm: PM Narendra Modi should apologise in the parliament for opposing the bill when it was presented by the UPA government. If Modi cannot, then Arun Jaitley should apologise

6:33 pm: BJP when it was in opposition rejected the bill calling it as anti-national

T.K.S Elangovan says:

6:32 pm: I support the bill but it should not be considered as a Money Bill

6:31 pm: tobacco and tobacco products should also be included in the bill

6:30 pm: there should be a mechanism involved for paying compensation

Prof. M.V. Rajeev Gowda says:

6: 28 pm: the bill should have a cap and come as a Finance Bill and not as a Money Bill

6:26 pm: issue of goods and services in the context of e-commerce should be addressed and clarified

6:26 pm: much needs to be done about the issues that the urban India local bodies deal with

6:25 pm: the issue of dual control should be addressed

6:15 pm: we support the bill

6:10 pm: ek nishaan ek samvidhaan aur ek karaadhaan

6:05 pm: it will reduce the multiplicity of tax in the country, and will reduce the hidden cost in doing a business

6:04 pm: the invisible "Berlin" wall between the 29 states will fall and the India will have one market if the bill is passed

P Bhattacharya says:

6:00 pm: what would be the functioning of the state finance commission?

5:59 pm: it is not clear from the bill how the common people, who are the consumers, will be protected

5:57 pm: the ceiling rate of the GST should have been specified in the constitution itself

Garikapati Mohan Roy says:

5:41 pm: the Centre should specify a road map of compensating the states for loss of revenue

Dilip Kumar Tirkey says:

5:38 pm: there should not be any cap on the bill

5:38 pm: Odisha's demands our being suppressed

5:37 pm says: our country is running by god's grace

Surendra Singh Nagar says:

5:35 pm: the Bill should be brought in as Finance Bill but not as a Money bill

5:32 pm: the finance minister should specify the cap

5:29 pm: the bill is connected with common people. Bill is important for those who need "roti, kapda and makaan".

Ajay Sancheti says:

5:25 pm: consumers will be benefited by the bill

5:23 pm: Even after different political ideologies, in the interest of people all parliamentarians have come together

Rajeev Chandrashekhar says:

5:06 pm: GST will reduce cost to sellers and consumers

Dr Narendra Jadhav says:

5:00 pm: I support the bill

5:00 pm: it would facilitate fiscal consolidation

4:59 pm: the Bill will help arresting corruption

Praful Patel says:

4:56 pm: please take us as partners in progress of the nation

4:55 pm: as part of the government we tried for GST to become a reality.

4: 52 pm: party supports the Bill

4:51 pm: revenue rate needs to be looked at

4:49 pm: it is important to address the issues of the poorer states

C.M Ramesh says:

4:43 pm: party supports the Bill

Satish Chandra Misra says:

4:42 pm: it should be brought as a Finance Bill and not as a Money Bill

4:32 pm: party supports the GST Bill:

Ananga Udaya Singh Deo says:

4:27 pm: The Centre should not be given a veto power and the redressal mechanism for states should be stronger

4:26 pm: mineral-rich states should be allowed to implement Green Tax

4:24 pm: Singh says that his party supports the bill, but needs to highlight issues faced by the state of Odisha

Sitaram Yechury says:

4:17 pm: interest of the people should be priority

4:13 pm: this is a very serious piece of legislation; and therefore all the bills connected with the GST should come back for consideration and shall not be brought as a money bill

4:12 pm: there should Fair Revenue Rate instead of Revenue Neutral Rate

4:11 pm: if not capped, GST will be increasingly burdensome tax

4:09 pm: instead of a neutral revenue rate government should work on a fair revenue rate for states

4:07 pm: cap on GST is necessary

4:06 pm: do we want the states to come to the centre with a begging bowl to ask for money?

4:00 pm: GST might take away rights of the states. Federal structure must be maintained.

Sharad Yadav says:

3:56 pm: I agree with Mr. Chidambaram that the bill should not be introduced as a money bill

3:55 pm: if GST Bill is implemented corruption will reduce

Sharad Yadav speaks after Derek O'brien ends his arguments on a note that the bill should be implemented as fast as possible

Derek O'Brien says:

3:50 pm: don't let the election results bother you(BJP and Congress) let the bill pass

3:38 pm: the amendment bill is completely against fiscal federalism

3:37 pm: GST is also Girgit Samjhota Tax

3:37 pm: the government and the main opposition doesn't discuss the politics of GST

A. Navaneethakrishnan says:

3:35 pm: Thankyou honourable Amma

3:32 pm: Tamil Nadu will lose 9,270 crore due to the amendment bill and therefore we oppose it

3:30 pm: Because of the amendment bill Tamil Nadu will lose significant amount of revenue

3:29 pm: The Bill did not take into consideration the diversity of India

3:26 pm: oppose the constitutional amendment Bill because it is not constitutional and violates the fiscal autonomy of states

Naresh Agarwal, Samajwadi Party says:

3:18 pm: Please announce it in the house, since it is not mentioned in the Bill that what is the limit of the turnover for businessmen who would be exempted from GST

3:17 pm: GST cannot become a money bill

3:15 pm: Will govt make GST network such, so that states and centre get their respective shares and state wouldn't have to beg before centre

3:14 pm: The reason why the government does not accept a tax rate cap is because its intention is to increase the tax

3:13 pm: We are supporting the GST unwillingly so that people don't not think Samajwadi Party stopping India's economic development

Bhupendra Yadav says:

3:00 pm: The new generation of India has left behind casteism and wants to progress and it also wants that the poor in the country should get economic and social justice, which they can get if GST gets passed.

3:00 pm: Variation in prices of various goods in the country can be controlled by GST

2:53 pm: India's strength as one of the biggest markets will converge into one marketplace from 29.

Bhupendra Yadav speaks in Rajya Sabha after former Finance Minister P Chidambaram ends his speech

P Chidambaram says:

2:45 pm: The GST bill should be introduced as a Financial Bill and not as a Money Bill so both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha could debate the bill

2:42 pm: Urge Finance Minister to further strengthen the Bill

2:40 pm: Hight tax rate defeats the purpose of GST Bill

2:37 pm: In the name of the people, the standard rate of GST must not exceed 18%

2:36 pm: Must avoid cascading effect on tax

2:35 pm: GST is supposed to be a more efficient tax

2:33 pm: Government draft of GST Bill clumsy

2: 30 pm: Let me make it clear, Congress was never opposed to the idea of GST: P Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha

2:24 pm: GST also stands for Good Sense Triumphs

2:21 pm: P Chidambaram speaking on GST bill in Rajya Sabha