The Central government has indicated that it may call a special session of Parliament to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill for the Goods & Services Tax regime.

While declining to give any details, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made it clear that waiting till the Winter Session would make it “extremely difficult” to meet the April 1, 2016, deadline for the GST regime. He reiterated the “Government’s determination” to implement GST from the scheduled date.

It is believed that the special session could be called around August 31.

“The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs has not taken any decision on when to prorogue the House,” Jaitley said, addressing the media after the session. This implies that the sitting of the House can be called at a short notice and will be counted as part of the Monsoon Session itself.

Congress reaction Commenting on the government’s thinking, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the Congress is not averse to attending a special session, if the Centre addresses the issues raised by the Opposition on the Bill. He added that several industrialists had written to him endorsing the party’s position on the issue. “Don't forget that we authored that legislation,” he added. 

Jaitley refused to specify the strategy to get the Bill passed. But he said that “the numbers required to pass the Bill as it stands today suit the amendment.” The Bill needs the support of at least 163 of the Rajya Sabha’s 244 members. Leaving out the Congress and Left and including the AIADMK, the number will be 166. But getting that support will require some work. After the GST Bill is passed, three pieces of legislation — Central GST, State GST and Integrated GST — need to be enacted.

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