India withdraws 'Most Favoured Nation' status given to Pakistan

India withdraws 'Most Favoured Nation' status given to Pakistan

India has withdrawn the 'Most Favoured Nation' status granted to Pakistan in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack in which more than 40 CRPF jawans were martyred.

Union Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government has decided to withdraw the "Most Favoured Nation" status given to Pakistan, in the wake of the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir a day ago when a CRPF convoy in Pulwama was rammed into by an explosive-packed SUV that has left 45 troopers dead.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the suicide attack on Thursday that proved to be the most devatating since militancy erupted in 1989.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Arun Jaitley said: "The most favoured nation status which has been granted to Pakistan stands withdrawn with immediate effect."

Related Links on Pulwama Terror Attack:

• 40 CRPF personnel killed in J&K's Pulwama as Jaish militants attack convoy
• Pulwama terror attack revenge: PM Modi says forces given full freedom
• "Immediately End Support To Terror Groups": US To Pak Over Pulwama Attack

What is 'Most Favoured Nation' status?

• Under the WTO agreements, countries cannot normally discriminate between their trading partners. Grant someone a special favour (such as a lower customs duty rate for one of their products) and you have to do the same for all other WTO members.
• This principle is known as most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment. It is so important that it is the first article of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which governs trade in goods. MFN is also a priority in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) (Article 2) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (Article 4), although in each agreement the principle is handled slightly differently. Together, those three agreements cover all three main areas of trade handled by the WTO.

When did India grant MFN status to Pakistan?

• India granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996, a year after the formation of WTO. After the Uri attack in 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the MFN treatment accorded to Pakistan. Pakistan still hasn't granted India with MFN status.

Related Links:

• Pakistan no longer 'Most Favoured Nation': India
• Most Favoured Nation: What does Pakistan stand to lose?

GST: Everything you want know about One Nation One Tax

As the nation prepares for the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1st July 2017 midnight, the government has prepared a FAQ sheet based on several questions it received on Twitter.

Here is a summary of some the most frequently asked questions and their answers:
 What is Goods and Services Tax?

• It is a destination based tax on consumption of goods and services. It is proposed to be levied at all stages right from manufacture up to final consumption with credit of taxes paid at previous stages available as setoff. In a nutshell, only value addition will be taxed and burden of tax is to be borne by the final consumer.

The GST would replace the following taxes:
1. Taxes currently levied and collected by the Centre:

1. Central Excise duty
2. Duties of Excise (Medicinal and Toilet Preparations)
3. Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance)
4. Additional Duties of Excise (Textiles and Textile Products)
5. Additional Duties of Customs (commonly known as CVD)
6. Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD)
7. Service Tax
8. Central Surcharges and Cesses so far as they relate to supply of goods and services

2. State taxes that would be subsumed under the GST are:

1. State VAT
2. Central Sales Tax
3. Luxury Tax
4. Entry Tax (all forms)
5. Entertainment and Amusement Tax(except when levied by the local bodies)
6. Taxes on advertisements
7. Purchase Tax
8. Taxes on lotteries, betting and gambling
9. State Surcharges and Cesses so far as they relate to supply of goods and services

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