A day before the crucial all-party meeting on the goods and services tax (GST), businessmen and hoteliers of the Kashmir valley met Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu and were yet again given the assurance that the new law would not have an effect on J&K’s special status.
The marathon meeting with the Finance Minister that lasted around three hours comes a day after the business community met Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, where they unanimously opposed the extension of the GST to the state, fearing it would affect Article 370.
“Our stand remains the same. We unanimously told the Finance Minister that the GST should not have any impact on Article 370 that would erode our financial autonomy. We held elaborate discussions and the meeting lasted for over three hours,” said Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Mushtaq Ahmad Wani.
However, Wani said Drabu promised them that J&K would not “surrender its powers” once the GST was implemented in the state.
The government has already called for an all-party meeting tomorrow and a special Assembly session on June 17 to discuss the extension of the 101st Amendment to the Constitution to J&K before the GST Bill is passed. The all-party meeting was called after a demand by the National Conference, which has raised questions over the new tax structure. An official said the all-party meeting was scheduled at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre here tomorrow at 3 pm. The Chief Minister too had met Governor NN Vohra yesterday ahead of the special Assembly session on extension of the GST to the state.
‘Won’t compromise on J&K’s fiscal autonomy’
Srinagar: Promising the business community that their interests will be fully protected, Minister of Finance Haseeb Drabu on Monday said the state government would not compromise on the fiscal autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir under the new GST regime. “We have made changes in federal relations with the Government of India. Other states draw powers to tax from the Constitution of India while we draw our powers from our own Constitution. Those legislative powers have not been compromised, so there is no question of compromising the fiscal autonomy,” he said.
