New Delhi, 12 Jul: The Congress accused the Centre on Wednesday of promoting \u201ctax terrorism\u201d by surreptitiously bringing the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) within the purview of the anti-money laundering law, with an aim to intimidate the opponents of the ruling BJP and small businesses.
\nAt a press conference here, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the government issued a notification to this effect on July 7, even when nine states opposed the move.
\nHe alleged that the notification was issued in a tearing hurry as no bona fide reasons were cited by the government for the same.
\n\u201cBringing the GSTN under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) is a way of the (Narendra) Modi government to practise, promote and propagate tax terrorism,\u201d Singhvi said while pointing out that the step was taken with only months to go for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
\n\u201cThe triplet tactic of constraint, compulsion and coercion by the BJP through the new law shall wreak havoc on the business community in India. This is another tactic of the BJP to intimidate, incarcerate and imprison opposition leaders just ahead of the general elections,\u201d the Congress leader said.
\nHe said the notification issued by the finance ministry amended a 2006 notification, facilitating sharing of information between the GSTN, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other investigative agencies. The changes have been made for the provisions under section 66 of the PMLA, which provides for disclosure of information, Singhvi noted.
\n\u201cThe Modi government wants to hit two targets together. Firstly, to break the back of the market and secondly, to twist the organs of the opposition.
\nThe PMLA was implemented in GST subjects from July 7. The excuse given was that it was necessary for the country. It was implemented even after nine states opposed it,\u201d he said. (PTI)
\nThe Congress leader also questioned the timing of the move, while pointing out that less than a year is left for the parliamentary polls.
\n\u201cWith the election nearing, the government is finding new techniques and tools to target the opposition,\u201d he said while claiming that only 24 convictions have taken place in such cases over decades.
\n\u201cHow and why did this new notification come without any discussion? Is spreading the government\u2019s fear and phobia behind this move? Is this a new way to control small and middle-category businesses? Will its special message be only for the opposition? What was the sudden need to bring the GST under the PMLA?\u201d Singhvi asked.
\n\u201cWhat was the tearing hurry? Why could this not be discussed? Is harassment the only reason for bringing this law or whether this has been done to control small and medium businesses ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls?\u201d he asked while alleging that the government took the step without any bona fide reason and that it does not have the bona fide interest of the citizens at heart.
\nSinghvi also wondered whether this is a way of settling political scores or suppressing the grassroot-level donors of the opposition parties. \u201cHas the law been introduced to further intimidate leaders from the opposition parties?\u201d he asked.
\nSinghvi alleged that the government, which \u201cmisused\u201d agencies such as the income-tax department, ED and CBI, has now launched another attack and through this law, it wants to harass small and medium entrepreneurs by way of tax terrorism.
\nThe government used to adopt these tactics against opposition leaders but now, it wants to use the same against small businessmen and traders, he said.
\nSinghvi claimed that the move will imperil trade, which is yet to come out of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and has already fallen to a historic low.
\n\u201cThis move puts honest and innocent businessmen at the mercy of an organisation that has built a reputation for itself as a willing and pliant apparatus of the ruling regime,\u201d he said, adding that it could result in small businesses being investigated by the country\u2019s financial crime agency for GST violations, breaking the backbone of the economy.
\nMaintaining that the government has to ensure a smooth functioning of businesses in order to ensure a smart economic recovery, the Congress leader said at a time when the Centre is misusing the ED\u2019s powers, businesses are concerned about greater scrutiny at the hands of investigative agencies.
\nHe claimed that the GST regime has already broken the back of the Indian economy and bringing it under the PMLA would prove to be lethal for the economy.
\nBringing a large section of businessmen under the ED\u2019s lens and giving the agency the power to arrest is a way to practise and promote tax terrorism, Singhvi said while questioning the \u201csurreptitious\u201d manner in which the government took the step.
\n\u201cThe fact that the GSTN was brought under the PMLA (section 66) through a gazette notification of the finance ministry on July 7, without any discussion or debate in Parliament, raises legitimate apprehensions,\u201d he said, noting that the Centre was aware that such a move would face backlash from the public. PTI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi, 12 Jul: The Congress accused the Centre on Wednesday of promoting \u201ctax terrorism\u201d by surreptitiously bringing the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) within the purview of the anti-money laundering law, with an aim to intimidate the opponents of the ruling BJP and small businesses. At a press conference here, Congress spokesperson Abhishek […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-220287","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220287\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}