Zia Mody believes that it would take about two years for GST to go through and expects to see Insurance Bill in the Winter Session. Kritika Saxena caught up with her on the sidelines of the ISB Conclave.
Below is the excerpt of the interview
Q: Your take on latest development…
A: Two things have happened that have helped. One, there has been a Delhi High Court decision which basically says that unless you have more than 50 percent of your global assets sitting in India, we are not going to treat that as material or substantial. So that is a safety valve in that sense which we hope the government will implicitly endorse.
The second thing is our Finance Minister has said that if there is going to be any retrospective application, that will not happen till it goes to a high level committee. I suspect 90 percent of those attempts or initiatives will die at that level. But if the government time and again is saying that it knows that that is something that it needs to calm for foreign investors to come in. So it is aligned.
Q: From a taxation point of view the delay in GST has jittered some investors for sure. What do you feel the government is doing currently to be able to fast track this? Is a fast track expected? If yes do you have a timeline in mind?
A: My own sense is it will take about two years. It is the present government that actually was not in favour of GST when it was in Opposition. That has changed now. They have understood that it will add a significant amount to the GDP. I think it is a work in progress but according to me it is inevitable and my sense is two years.
Q: The Winter Session of Parliament will come into session soon. From a reform or a policy point of view what are the key changes or key developments that you are expecting?
A: The one thing I am looking forward to in particular is that the Insurance Bill gets passed and the 26 percent to 49 percent gets done finally, it has been just far too long hanging.
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