CHANDIGARH: Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has given his endorsement for two out of the three Bills submitted to his office. This decision comes in the wake of a recent correspondence with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in which he expressed his intention to thoroughly evaluate the proposed legislation before permitting their introduction in the Assembly.
The Governor's approval is a prerequisite for the presentation of Money Bills within the Vidhan Sabha.
On November 1, official sources confirmed that Purohit has greenlit the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The first of these Bills is geared towards facilitating the establishment of a GST Appellate Tribunal and the imposition of goods and services tax on online gaming. The second Bill is designed to institute a levy on stamp duty for mortgaged property.
This development follows Purohit's commitment, conveyed in his letter to Mann on October 29, to scrutinize all the Bills meticulously, with a primary focus on the overall welfare of the people of the state.
It's worth noting that the AAP Government had taken the matter to the Supreme Court, challenging Purohit's initial withholding of approval for the Bills.
The Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023 were originally slated for presentation in the House during the October 20-21 Vidhan Sabha session.
However, on October 19, the Governor penned a letter to the chief minister in which he suspended his approval for these three Money Bills, asserting that the October 20-21 session, presented as an extension of the Budget session, was likely to be unlawful and any business conducted during it would be considered as such.
On October 20, the Punjab Government abbreviated the two-day session, with Chief Minister Mann announcing his intention to take the matter to the Supreme Court in response to the Governor's withholding of approval for the three Bills.
This marks the second instance in a year where the AAP Government has sought recourse to the apex court. Previously, they had approached the Supreme Court, accusing the Governor of failing to respond to the Cabinet's decision to convene the Budget Session in March.
In the meantime, four other Bills, including the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023, are currently awaiting the Governor's approval. These Bills had been endorsed during the June 19-20 session of the Punjab Assembly, which the Governor had previously characterized as "patently illegal."
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