But this is just an amendment to the constitution that empowers the government to bring the GST bill.
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According to Reuters, Indian parliament’s upper house is likely to discuss on August 3 a constitutional amendment bill for the long-pending Goods and Services Tax.
The Bill was brought after the government reached out to the opposition, especially the Congress, and won its backing for the key legislation, which had been awaiting the Parliament’s nod for nearly a decade.
– Finance Minister Arun Jaitley originally pledged to roll out the bill by April 1, 2016.
“However, if you need one more copy, (Rajya Sabha) Secretariat will circulate it”, he said adding if there are amendments proposed by the government to that Bill they have to be circulated to members one day before the debate.
Tax experts have pointed how now only 2per cent of effective taxes is passed on to the consumers but as per the GST model atleast 6 per cent rates could be imposed, impacting the jewellery purchase.
The Cabinet had earlier cleared changes in the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill, dropping 1 percent manufacturing tax and providing guarantee to compensate states for any revenue loss in the first five years of rollout of the proposed indirect tax regime.
The passing of the GST Bill will help raise the GDP by almost a percentage point or possibly more.
In the current scenario, the states’ VAT laws warrant submission of myriad documentation, thereby impeding free movement of goods and Central Sales Tax Law also mandates issuance of diverse statutory forms. However, in the Upper House of Parliament, a 21-member panel was constituted, which submitted the report in July 2015. He went on to say that GST doesn’t stand only for Goods & Services Tax, it also stands for “Good Sense Triumphs”. We have talked to all parties and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at the beginning of this session that GST is in the interest of all.
“Now, we may not agree, but West Bengal government levies additional tax to create funds for those impacted by the Saradha scam”.
The key Congress demand for rephrasing of the language for setting up of dispute resolution mechanism in the GST Council has also been agreed to by the government.
The pan-India tax reform has been passed by the Lok Sabha but is stuck in the Rajya Sabha, where the government lacks a majority. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar has said that the GST bill has been listed for discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and hoped it will be passed through consensus.
“If there isn’t any obstacle, the GST Bill will be approved tomorrow (Wednesday)”, Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters outside the Parliament House.
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# Two-third of the voting power in GST council belongs to states.
