Goods and services Tax (GST) is being introduced in India after a 13 years long journey. GST is a dream evolving into reality. Model GST law has been realized by Government of India in public domain in june 2016 as it would be applicable to whole India. The constitution of India has been duly amended vide 122 constitution amendment bill, 2014 w.e.f. 16 september 2016. The amendment has provided concurrent power to both centre and states to make laws with respect to goods and services tax imposed by the centre. Also, the parliament of India has been given exclusive power to make laws with respect to goods and services tax where the supply of goods, or of services, or both takes place in the course of interstate trade or commerce.
The GST is a value added tax (VAT) is proposed to be a comprehensive indirect tax levy on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods as well as services at the national level. It will replace all indirect taxes levied on goods and services by central government. GST will subsume various indirect taxes including central excise duty, service tax, additional custom duty, surcharges, state level value added tax etc. GST is expected to turn India into a national common market. Indian governments want to make one nation. One tax, but that’s myth for us because Indian authoritarian authorities can’t apply their laws on disputed territory. Also, we kashmiris always clearly reject India’s A’toot Angh theory.
Article 370, laid down in 1949, limited the jurisdiction of the centre in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. First, so far as the state was concerned, the centre could only pass laws that dealt with defence, external affairs and communication. Second, laws by the centre would only be applicable to Jammu & Kashmir if the state assembly passed a resolution approving them. Most of the laws in the state flowed from a separate Jammu & Kashmir constitution. The Special Constitutional Status given to Jammu & Kashmir by the article 370 has over the years become a symbol of Kashmiri political and economic freedom. Given the recent demand for the removal of the article 370, everything remotely influencing the special status of Kashmir will be viewed with suspicion and GST reforms when viewed through the prism of suspicion will look like another nail in the coffin of article 370.
The implementation of GST for the most of the states is just a question of surrending certain taxation rights to the centre but for Jammu and Kashmir it is a matter of the constitutional right of financial autonomy. The implementation of GST reforms will seriously undermine the special autonomy. The powers granted to Jammu and Kashmir by the constitution, the state’s assembly can pass the bills or laws relating to taxation. But if the GST is implemented than neither the J&K state assembly nor state Finance minister can unilaterally make any change to taxation in the state. The autonomy to monitor its own taxes will no longer be possible. So along with the Right of tax goods, in the case of J&K, the State government will also be surrending the special right to tax services. In other words an important feature of J&K’s special status, that is the state’s autonmy in taxation will be eroded. The Finance Act 1994 ( “Service Tax”) is already not applicable to the state for the same reason.
Nowadays in J&K state Finance minister is assuring all stakeholders that nothing will happen to our special status. BUT HOW IS IT POSSIBLE? Can He please explain us, like HE explained in past HE was not Mantri. We still remember his words in daily newspaper, “ COME GST NEITHER THE STATE LEGISLATURE NOR THE STATE CABINET WILL HAVE A SAY ON JK’S TAXATION”. Present state government is the same govt who always weakened our disputed status and trying to erode article 370 step by step as a MUFTI SAHAB KA KHAWAAB. MUFTI SAHAB(may he rests in peace) was mature enough to understand the special status of J&K state. But unfortunately his successors are not able to provide good governance. They are working day and night for the implementation of GST in order to remain in power. In this regard, recently the special session convened in Srinagar on June 17 to discuss the new GST, ahead of its nationwide rollout on July 1, got adjourned sine die. Now, its duty of Opposition and all stakeholders to show resistance. If somehow this is implemented than Kashmiri’s have to see one more phase of uprising. Now KASHMIR needs only peace!
Muhammad Faisal can be reached at imuhammadfaisal1@gmail.com