The Bihar government appears divided on the goods and services tax (GST) bill set to be introduced in Parliament during the ongoing budget session.

Finance minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui remained non-committal about it and said: “I have several reservations about the bill.”

Energy and commercial taxes minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said: “The state government was in favour of a uniform GST across the country”.

While Siddiqui (RJD) refused to elaborate about his reservations and postponed it for “some other time”, Yadav (JDU) was of the opinion that introduction of GST would be beneficial for the country.

The contradiction came to fore at a lecture, “GST implementation and its implications on Bihar”, organised by Asian Development Research Institute, at which public finance expert and visiting professor at Centre for Economic Policy and Public Finance M. Govinda Rao spoke.

Former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said he was worried but optimistic that the GST bill will be passed and a new indirect tax regime will be implemented.

Modi said: “My worry stems from anticipation that a dual control of tax administration will come up, which will be opposed by the traders in the country. Taxpayers are not afraid of paying. Once the provisions are implemented they will have to deal with states as well as a central GST mechanism. The biggest resistance to GST will be from traders, who have not been taken into confidence. This aspect has been missed by politicians and bureaucrats.”

Earlier, Rao pointed out that GST reform has been on the agenda of the Centre and the states for a considerable period of time, and is considered necessary to make the tax system efficient, ensure a common market throughout the country as well as impart export competitiveness.

“It would however be premature to consider the reform as a game changer, for, ultimately the gains will depend on how the structure of the tax will evolve. The 29 states, Union Territories and the central government are involved in negotiations and compromises are unavoidable.  We are hoping that good sense will prevail and the constitutional amendment will be passed because it will be good for the country,” Rao added.

ADRI member secretary Saibal Gupta welcomed the guests, while commercial taxes commissioner Sujata Chaturvedi presided over the programme. Representatives from Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries, and Bihar Industries Association were present.