THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 26, 2016- Topic 1
Soon after the seventh meeting of the Goods and Services
Tax Council last week, Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley said only one difficult issue remains pending to enable
the implementation of the new indirect tax regime. The Centre is determined to
introduce the GST from April 1, 2017, and given the time constraints posed by
that deadline, Mr. Jaitley expressed hope that States would rise to the
occasion and help resolve the issue. It can be safely assumed he was referring
to the turf battle between the Centre and States on sharing administrative
powers over taxpayers in the new system, even if this is not the only hurdle
left to cross. This was the first time the Council met after the washed-out
winter session of Parliament, with no movement on four enabling GST
legislations. Over two days last week, the Council managed to clear the current
drafts of the Centre and State GST Bills and agreed on a two-monthly
compensation payout to States, instead of a quarterly one, for revenue losses
they might incur after the switch. The trickiest tangle of cross empowerment or
dual administrative control will now be taken up in the first week of 2017,
along with the model integrated GST Bill and the legalese around compensation
payments to States.
Even though an April 1 roll-out now
looks increasingly unlikely, the Council’s next meeting is critical to enable
the GST laws to make it to the Budget session of Parliament. States have mooted
a July 1 start for the GST regime, and that date could be pushed as far as
September 16, 2017, following which all existing indirect taxes will lapse.
Since it is a transaction tax, the GST can technically be started any time of
the year. Although that would be an accounting headache for firms, industry may
be better off with the extra time to prepare for the new order. Between now and
then, the Centre’s self-imposed 50-day deadline for reducing the pain caused by
the demonetisation of high-value currency notes would have passed too. States
may harden their stance on GST negotiations if the remonetisation process
hasn’t picked up by December 30. The Centre has so far brushed aside demands
from Tamil Nadu and West Bengal for additional compensation to make good the
revenue losses triggered by the slump in demand in the ongoing currency crisis.
But even BJP allies have begun to raise concerns. It is unlikely to be a
coincidence that soon after the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister spoke out about
the implementation of the demonetisation exercise, his representative in the
GST Council said the State would not accept the levy of a cess by the Centre in
order to reimburse States. The Centre may need to rise to the occasion as much
as States do to steer the GST regime forward.
Vocabulary
Determined: having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it.
Example: Alice was determined to be heard
Synonyms: intent on, bent on, set on, insistent on, resolved
to, firm about
Constraint: a limitation or restriction.
Example: The availability of water is the main constraint on food production
Synonyms: restriction, limitation, curb, check, restraint, control, damper
Turf: grass and the surface layer of earth held together by its roots.
Example: They walked across the springy turf
Synonyms: grass, lawn, sod
Trickiest: a task, problem, or situation requiring care and skill because difficult or
awkward.
Example: Applying eyeliner can be a tricky business
Synonyms: difficult, awkward, problematic, delicate, ticklish, sensitive
Mooted: raise a question or topic for discussion; suggest an idea or possibility.
Example: Sylvia needed a vacation, and a trip to Ireland had been mooted
Synonyms: raise, bring up, broach, mention, put forward, introduce
Slump: a sudden severe or prolonged fall in the price, value, or amount of
something.
Example: A slump in annual profits
Synonyms: steep fall, drop, tumble, downturn, downswing, slide, decline
Regime: a system or planned way of doing things, especially one imposed from above.
Example: Detention centers with a very tough physical regime
Synonyms: system, arrangement, order, pattern, method, procedure