The Finance Bill 2023 was approved by the Lok Sabha on Friday with 64 official amendments, two of which call for the creation of the GST Appellate Tribunal and the elimination of long-term tax incentives for specific categories of debt mutual funds.
Without discussion, the Finance Bill, which implements tax measures for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, was passed despite protests from opposition members calling for a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) investigation into the claims against the Adani group of firms.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the formation of a committee under the finance secretary to look into pension issues for public employees as she moved the bill for discussion and passage. She added that the Reserve Bank of India would investigate payments made with credit cards for international travel that are not subject to source-taxation. The Finance Bill, which Sitharman officially amended 64 times, was presented to Parliament on February 1 along with the Budget plans.
The Budget was passed on Thursday. At that time too, no discussion could take place because of the protest. Following amendments, 20 new sections have been added to the Bill. The Finance Bill will now be sent to the Rajya Sabha. While the House was taking up the Bill, several opposition members were in the well raising slogans and holding placards demanding a probe by a JPC into the allegations against Adani group of companies following a report by a US based short-seller. As sloganeering continued, the chair adjourned the proceedings of the House till Monday.