Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some questions.
Within a fortnight of President signing off on the 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, work on the next steps has begun. The GST Council, led by the Union Finance Minister and with representatives from all States, had its first meeting in September , flagging off the process of determining the nitty-gritty of the new indirect tax system and resolving differences on crucial first-principle issues.
Time is of the essence, as just six months remain for the April 1, 2017 deadline that the Centre has set for ringing in the GST. Finance Minister has admitted that the deadline is ‘challenging’, but going by the outcomes of the first meeting of the Council, it is clearly doable. Apart from agreeing on the rules and timetable for its meetings, the Council reached a consensus on the threshold turnover for a business to be covered by the GST, Rs.20 lakh, which ensures that the new tax will not be a compliance burden for small retailers and traders. It has also agreed on the draft compensation formula for States’ revenue losses and accepted industry’s rationale to subsume myriad cess levies in the GST.
An important signal at this juncture is the Centre’s decision to let go of the Central Board of Excise and Customs’s proposal to create dual control over the assessment of businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs.1.5 crore and give States that power. Experts reckon that a large number of assessees fall below this threshold. By conceding ground on this contentious issue, the Finance Minister has sent a welcome message of give-and-take. This is important given the need to resolve more tangled Centre-State tax issues on the Council’s agenda quickly, if the model laws for Central, State and integrated GST are to be ready for Parliament’s winter session. It is evident that all States participated with an open mind, including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, irrespective of their ratification strategies for the Constitution amendments in their respective Assemblies. All decisions were arrived at by consensus.
The Centre and the States appear to be informed by the roll-out experience of the Value-Added Tax regime, and the States want to be on the same page through discussions and support one another rather than get divided along regional or party lines. This bodes well for the GST, where every decision has to be taken by the Council based on a majority view: the States have two-thirds voting power and the Centre has one-third. It is to be hoped that this accommodative spirit of cooperative federalism prevails.
1. Choose the appropriate title for the above passage?
(1) Positive signals from the GST Council
(2) Positive signals from the BST Council
(3) Positive signals from the LST Council
(4) Positive signals from the MST Council
(5) Stringent response from the GST Council
2. Within a fortnight of President signing off on the 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill to?
(1) introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime
(2) introduce the Goods and Summed Tax (GST) regime
(3) introduce the Grilled and Services Tax (GST) regime
(4) introduce the infrastutural and Services Tax (GST) regime
(5) introduce the Goods and Agricultural Tax (GST) regime
3. The GST Council, led by whom?
(1) The Union Finance Minister
(2) With representatives from all States
(3) The Union Textile Minister
(4) The Union Employment Minister
(5) Both (1) and (2)
4. What should be done if the model laws for Central, State and integrated GST are to be ready for Parliament’s winter session?
(1) To resolve familiar issues on the Council’s agenda.
(2) To resolve more tangled income issues on the Council’s agenda quickly
(3) To resolve state-State tax issues on the Council’s agenda
(4) To resolve more tangled Centre-State tax issues on the Council’s agenda quickly
(5) To entangle the Centre-State tax issues on the Council’s agenda.
5. Which of the following statement is NOT TRUE according the passage?
(1) Time is of the essence, as just six months remain for the April deadline that the Centre has set for ringing in the GST.
(2) Finance Minister has admitted that the deadline is ‘challenging’, but going by the outcomes of the first meeting of the Council, it is clearly doable.
(3) The Council reached a consensus on the threshold turnover for a business to be covered by the GST, Rs.20 lakh.
(4) Consensus on the threshold turnover for a business to be covered by the GST, Rs.20 lakh,ensures that the new tax will not be a compliance burden for small retailers and traders.
(5) The GST Council has not agreed on the draft compensation formula for States’ revenue losses.
6. Which of the following statement is TRUE according the passage?
(1) The Centre and the States appear to be informed by the roll-out experience of the Value-Added Tax regime.
(2) The States want to be on the same page through conflicts.
(3) The States do not want to support one another rather than get divided along regional or party lines.
(4) The States have pne-thirds voting power.
(5) The Centre has two-third voting power.
7. Choose the word most SIMILAR in meaning to the word printed in bold, as used in the passage.
DOABLE
(1) Obtainable
(2) Sustainable
(3) Viable
(4) Feasible
(5) Amity
8. Choose the word most SIMILAR in meaning to the word printed in bold, as used in the passage.
CONTENTIOUS
(1) Argumentative
(2) Aplomb
(3) Chastise
(4) Usurp
(5) Ivory
9. Choose the word which is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
COMPLIANCE
(1) Tractibility
(2) Obedience
(3) Dissension
(4) Concurrence
(5) Consent
10. Choose the word which is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
CONSENSUS
(1) Harmony
(2) Consent
(3) Unison
(4) Concord
(5) Disagreement
Answers.
1. (1) 2. (1) 3. (5) 4. (4) 5. (5) 6. (1) 7. (1) 8. (1) 9. (3) 10. (5)
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MAHENDRA GURU