GST Bill passage in ALA to benefit State: BJP

BJP says –  

*    Assam first State to have got passage of GST Bill

*    Passage of Bill to lead to dismantling of check-gates in State

*    Passage of Bill to increase speed of goods-laden trucks in Assam

*    Transportation cost of goods to come down

*    Prices to come down up to six per cent

*    Black marketers will be compelled to come to government fold

  By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, August 12: With the Assam Legislative Assembly (ALA) scripting the record of being the first State in the country to have passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill the BJP Assam Pradesh hopes that the passage of the Bill will benefit the people of the State in a big way.

Talking to newsmen at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhavan in the city today, State BJP spokesperson Rupam Guswami said: “We thank the Assam Government and the State Assembly for passing the GST Bill, first in the country. This Bill will benefit Assam to a great extent. This Bill will lead to slash in prices, besides controlling them. It is expected that with the passage of this Bill, the GDP of the country will go up by two per cent. With this, the prices will fall up to six per cent in Assam.”

Spelling out in what ways the passage of the Bill will benefit the people of the State, Goswami said: “One of the immediate fallouts of the passage of the Bill is the closure of all check-gates in the State, which will lead to increase the speed of goods-laden trucks in the State. The average speed of goods-laden trucks in Assam at present is 280 km a day against 800 km a day in other States in the country. With the dismantling of check-gates in the State the truckers won’t have to stop here and there, and as such goods will reach the State fast, leading to cut in transportation cost.”

Goswami further said: “This move will benefit Assam in other ways as well. The neighbouring States of Assam like Meghalaya, Aruchal Pradesh, galand etc., levy less tax than Assam. However, a section of people are taking this advantage to brings goods in trucks registering them in the me of the neighbouring States of Assam, but actually the goods in Assam. In this practice, Assam has to lose an amount of revenue. With the passage of the GST Bill, this practice by the unscrupulous section won’t succeed.”

According to Goswami, the passage of the GST Bill will compel the black marketers to come to government’s fold. “Since GST Bill has both input tax credit and output tax credit, the black marketers will have no way out but to come to the government fold, failing which they will have to incur loss. This will benefit the Government,” he said.

Denying media reports that the 121-km new tiol highway connecting Disangmukh-Tekeliphuta-Lakhimpur-Kamalabari-Jorhat would not see light of the day, another spokesperson Manoj Baruah said: “The bridge connecting Majuli and Jorhat has been approved in-principle as an tiol highway connecting project on February 27, 2016. Since the bridge lies in the 121-km Disangmukh-Tekeliphuta-Lakhimpur-Kamalabari-Jorhat route, along with the route the bridge has also got approval. The report of the bridge not going to see light of the day is baseless. This came to light when Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways P Radhakrishn was replying to a query from Assam MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa in the Lpk Sabha on August 4, 2016. The Union Minister also said that the Ministry had already directed Assam PWD to prepare the feasibility and Detailed Project Reports (DPR). The consultant is likely to be appointed by September this year.”  State BJYM president Diplu Ranjan Sarma was also present at the press meet.