Jammu & Kashmir Government in Dilemma over GST

The Jammu & Kashmir State government is in dilemma whether to implement GST or not as it violates article 370. The government has been facing backlash from the state traders and the opposition regarding this.

Recent Updates Regarding GST Implementation in Kashmir:

Today, the government has called an all party meeting to discuss various aspects of GST as the opposition is concerned over the implementation of GST as they say that it violates the special status of J&K. The opposition accused the coalition government of trying to end the special status of the state. The president of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry met Mehbooba Mufti to convey the message of traders that they are against GST.

He said that they are ready to bear up the loss of 1500 crore rupees but they won’t compromise with the special status of the state. It is assumed that if the state doesn’t implements GST then they will have to pay double tax and they will also not be able to benefit from the GST. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too said that if GST isn’t implemented in a state then it will have to bear huge loss and on economic basis, the state will become isolated from the rest.

State Laws vs. GST:

The state of J&K has several tax laws that will become irrelevant after the implementation of GST. The state fears that it will dilute the special status of J&K and the traders are ready to fight for it. There are many special laws like J&K Motor Spirit and Diesel Tax Act, Entry Tax, VAT and many such taxes that the state regulates according to its need but after GST all these will end. The rates of GST will be decided by the council at the center and it will be reviewed every five years.

To tackle such issues, the government is chairing an all party meeting today and has called a special assembly session on June 17 after the CM met the governor NN Vohra. There can be conflict seen in the later times between the center and the state parties of Jammu and Kashmir as the BJP wants to end article 370 by any means and state wants it to continue.