What would it be to do business in an India with more political jurisdictions, but with a semblance of a unified market?
They begin by saying:
There are two contradictory forces at work in India today. On the one hand, efforts to create a single national market by ushering in a coherent goods and sales tax have gained momentum in the last one year. On the other hand, within days of the move to create the state of Telangana, many similar statehood demands have mushroomed. Internal political divisiveness has gathered steam.
The editors conclude that business conditions will be more difficult if there are many more Bhateejas. I would tend to agree with this conclusion. As the editors say, small, unviable Bhateeja States will be rapacious.
However, things are not that great these days either. You cannot get Goan feni in New Delhi, or, for that matter, in any Indian city or town outside Goa – and there are over 100 brands. I recall an economist once telling an audience, “India needs to practice free trade with herself.”
Ha ha.
Given the tendency towards splitting up of states, towards more and more political jurisdictions, the only way by which civil society can guarantee themselves a completely liberated Market is through Constitutional Law.
Recall that the Magna Carta (1215 AD) contained a clause that granted all the towns, including London (whose Lord Mayor, William Hardel, was present at the signing) “freedom to trade by land and sea.” Once this freedom is secured in law, The Market will always be free.
Liberty Under Law.
Such a Market will be out of the reach of political manipulation.
“Unto that haven of freedom, my Lord, let my country awake.”
Dear Sauvik,
ReplyDeleteYou say that some states would be given for seizing and plunder of private property in the name of new found constitutional authority as a state. It is my opinion that the problem does not lie with the act of creation of states itself, but with the constitution which grants the Central Government overarching powers with the states, including the power to redistribute wealth through direct and indirect taxation.
A uniform tax is akin to central planning. The Government of India has no business taxing intra and inter-state trade in goods and services and must leave it to the states to reform their indirect tax codes. Art. 301 of the Constitution states that trade, commerce and intercourse throughout the territory of India shall be free. The rest of part XIII harps about state intervention for the preservation of public interest, which articles as we know have been grossly misused.
What is needed is reform of Part XII & XIII of the Constitution itself.
Federalism is a vastly superior doctrine and a means to ensure good public policy than Central mandates. Federalism acknowledges each state as a laboratory of ideas, and therefore no state has a monopoly on good public policy.
Just as under the U.S. Constitution, Indian states must have autonomy over education, business, religion and their own means to address poverty and other social issues.
Although, I am not repudiating anything you have said however 'Liberty under Law' can only be preserved with a Federalist constitution and it ia cause that you should champion.
Anirudh Bhati