Feature
Uttar Pradesh Assembly passes GST Bill
Lucknow: The Bhartiya Janata Party led by Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh today unanimously passed the UP Goods and Service Tax Bill, 2017 in state Assembly.
The bill, which was yesterday tabled in the Vidhan Sabha, was today passed unanimously through a voice vote with the Opposition not pressing for sending it to the select committee.
Initiating the discussion on the bill, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed it as revolutionary move which is in the interest of both consumers and traders.
“The GST Bill is the result of the Modi government’s move towards wider economic reforms,” he said, adding that it will bring uniformity in the tax structure.
Participating in the debate, Leader of the Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary suggested sending the bill to the select committee for wider scrutiny.
Members of the opposition parties said that filing of returns online three times a month would be cumbersome and suggested monetary fine in place of jail term for those who do not comply with it.
In his reply, the chief minister allayed their fears, giving point-by-point clarification.
“The doubts of the members over lack of computer knowledge has been taken care of … It will benefit small traders,” he said, adding that the Centre will compensate for the loss of revenue to states with the GST coming into effect.
“There is no need to be afraid of the GST…all non-BJP ruled states have also passed it. For redressing their problems, the GST council is going to hold its meeting soon,” the chief minister said.
Chaudhary said there had been some doubts over the bill which had kept it pending for so long but after Adityanath said there was no need to worry, the bill was passed unanimously.
The session was convened especially for the introduction and passage of the GST Bill with the Narendra Modi government keen on rolling out the indirect tax regime from July 1.
After the bill is passed by both Houses of the state legislature, Uttar Pradesh will join the likes of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Telangana, Bihar and Rajasthan whose legislatures have given their nod to the indirect tax regime.
The state government is confident that its tax revenue would increase due to the GST, which is touted as the most liberal tax structure to be adopted in the country.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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