Rajya Sabha passes three Bills amid Opposition protest

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Monday managed to pass three important Bills namely The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill,2021,The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021, amid Opposition protest.

With the passage of The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, all tax demands made on companies like Cairn Energy and Vodafone using a  2012 legislation on indirect transfer of Indian assets prior to May 28, 2012 will be withdrawn.

The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2021 seeks to establish a Central university in the Union Territory of Ladakh while the Tribunals Reforms Bill will abolish nine appellate tribunals, including the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT).

The Bill that aims to end all retrospective taxes imposed on indirect transfer of Indian assets was returned by the upper House amidst a walkout by the Congress, TMC and DMK.

Replying on the debate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said,”This (Bill) is appealing enough and putting an end to this ghost which we have been carrying all these while from 2012.” Lok Sabha had passed the Bill last week.

The Minister also informed the House the Bill provides for no payment of interest on refunds made under this and the parties seeking relief would not pursue further appeals or litigation in these cases.

Parliament also approved the Bill to abolish nine appellate tribunals, including the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), with the Rajya Sabha passing it on Monday. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on August 3.

The Bill moved by Sitharaman was also passed by a



voice vote in Rajya Sabha, while a statutory motion moved by the Opposition members to send it to a select committee was negated by a division vote.

Soon after the passage of the Bill, Opposition members trooped into the Well of the House in protest against the Pegasus snooping row and three farm laws leading to a brief adjournment of the House.

Another significant Bill was approved by the Parliament paving way for set up of Sindhu Central University at Ladakh following the passage of Central Universities (Amendment) Bill. The university will cater to all areas of Ladakh that include Leh and Kargil. It aims to facilitate and promote avenues of higher education and research for the people of the Union Territory.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill with a voice vote amid a walkout by Opposition parties including the Congress, the TMC and the DMK. The Bill was cleared by Lok Sabha last week.

Replying to a discussion on the Bill, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Leh, Ladakh, is a priority area for the Prime Minister...we are committed to establish a quality institution.”

According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, at present there is no Central university in Ladakh and therefore, the government has decided to establish a new one there to ensure increase in accessibility and quality of higher education.

Pradhan in his statement mentioned that around 7,000 students move out of Ladakh for study and with the establishment of the central university nearly 2,500 students will get an opportunity to study in their own city.