Lok Sabha passes Taxation Laws Bill to repeal several tax laws

The Taxation Laws (Amendment Bill, 2017), that repeals a number of laws related to taxation and complements the GST law, got Lok Sabha's assent today.

Parliament has already passed four bills related to the Goods and Services Tax that will be implemented from 1 July.

The Taxation Laws (Amendment Bill, 2017), will clear the way for implementation of GST by repealing all earlier tax legislations, minister of state for finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said while addressing concerns of members of the House.

The bill will put to end the Customs Act, the Customs Tariff Act, the Central Excise Act, and the Finance Act.

It will also repeal certain enactments like the ones relating to levy of cess on industrial use of water and welfare of beedi workers.

While no amendments were proposed to the bill, opposition members, however, voiced concerns against investing customs authorities with unbridled powers to collect information.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who initiated the discussion, said administrative officers have been given executive as well as quasi-judicial powers.

BJP's Bharatruhari Mahtab also voiced the same concerns. He wondered why the cess for welfare of beedi workers and the one on use of water by industrialists were lifted.

Mahtab hopes that the welfare of the beedi workers would be taken care of and the state's concerned facilitated to continue with the welfare schemes for beedi workers which was implemented through the cess funds.