Brushing aside any political deal on his appointment, the new head of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers, Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader, Mr Sushil Kumar Modi, is aware of the tough task ahead.

Differences in political ideologies had earlier lead to deadlines for the rollout of the new tax regime (GST) being missed. Sharing his agenda with Business Line , Mr Modi, says his priority will be to put forth the concerns raised by various States.

Is there a deal between BJP and Congress over your appointment?

How can you ask this question? BJP in its manifesto has talked about GST. There should not be any doubt on this. This committee is for formulating and implementing VAT. GST is the next destination. But state governments have some concerns. They want their revenue to be protected. They do not want their autonomy should to be endangered. Punjab and Haryana have purchase tax. Punjab is ruled by Akali Dal-BJP and Haryana is Congress-ruled. Then, there is octroi in Maharashtra and West Bengal, and they do not want to lose it. These are the issues of minor detail.

You have talked about some flexibility for States. What does that mean?

States want some flexibility in a situation of emergency, such as drought or floods. They should have the power to impose some kind of cess. This issue was raised by all the States. These issues have not been incorporated in the Constitutional Amendment Bill. There is still sufficient time for the committee to express its concerns to the standing committee.

And once it goes to Parliament, our MPs will be there. So, there is still a long procedure of discussion.

Will you place your concerns with the standing committee?

I don't know the procedure. I will talk to the Chairman of the standing committee and go by the procedures of Parliament.

The April 1, 2012 deadline seems nearly impossible. What could be a practical deadline now?

I can't suggest anything. The date of implementation is not in our domain. I don't know how much time the standing committee will take.

I don't know how much time Parliament will take, as this type of Bill requires a two-thirds majority to get passed.

Do you think the Centre should adopt a flexible approach?

Not just the Centre, the States, too, should have flexibility.

What about compensation?

The Centre has assured that for 2010-11, it will give compensation. But there are some issues, which will be sorted out in the coming months.

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