The GST Council has given its nod to convert the company providing IT backbone to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) into a government owned entity from being a private company.
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, who had for months questioned the private equity structure of GST-Network (GSTN), demanded transfer of Finance Secretary Hashmukh Adhia to a lesser important ministry for his alleged role in the “GSTN scam”, media reports said.
After the GST Council meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who had for months defended the equity structure of GSTN, reportedly said he had proposed to the panel for a change in the structure of GSTN which was accepted.
The central government currently holds 24.5 per cent stake in GSTN and state governments collectively hold an equivalent stake. The remaining 51 per cent is held by five financial institutions, a PTI report quoted him as saying.
Jaitley reportedly said the Council agreed that the 51 per cent equity held by private entities should be taken over by the government and “eventually the central government will hold 50 per cent and state governments (together) will hold 50 per cent”.
The collective share of state governments will be pro rata, divided among states in accordance with their GST ratios, he was quoted as saying.
“While doing so the council also recommended that the GSTN will continue to employ people contractually and have the flexibility to get the best talent from the market considering the wide range of activities and the responsibilities of GSTN itself,” Jaitley reportedly said.
Swamy, who had repeatedly questioned the shareholding pattern in the GSTN, terming it “a shady organisation” that was a “grave security” issue, tweeted soon after the decision was announced : “I demand the Finance Secretary Adhia be transferred to another Ministry like Textiles for his role in GSTN scam.”
Jaitley had previously said that he did not find anything wrong in government holding 49 per cent stake in GSTN, reported PTI.
“The present structure of GSTN was decided by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) when P Chidambaram was the finance minister. I have personally reviewed the entire structure and I saw no reason to disagree with him,” he was quoted as saying in June last year.
