GST Bill tabled in Lok Sabha; PM Modi to participate in debate

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday tabled the GST Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha.

Stating that majority of political parties have supported the GST, FM said, "GST is a massive reform in the country. I am thankful to all the political parties for making it happen".

While moving Constitution Amendment Bill, Jaitley said that Centre has addressed concerns of all states on GST. “Future road map is that this is an enabling amendment, three more laws have to be created. Two of those have to come before Parliament,” he said.

“If one pays tax at one stage, they wont have to give another tax on that tax component. So tax on tax will be eradicated,” Jaitley added.

After facing fierce opposition over the Bill for almost a year, the government succeeded in bringing all major opposition parties, including Congress, on board and it was passed in the Upper House with an overwhelming majority on August 3.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate during the debate on the Bill in Lok Sabha.

GST, the biggest economic reform since 1991, is likely to sail through smoothly in the Lower House. It will replace a raft of different state and local taxes with a single unified value added tax system to turn the country into world's biggest single market.

The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha last year and now it has to go back to the Lower House for incorporating the amendments approved by Rajya Sabha.

The GST Bill has to be ratified by at least 16 states in 30 days after it is passed by Parliament.

The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, that would lay the ground for roll out of GST regime, was passed by the opposition-dominated Upper House after the government moved four amendments.

Once implemented, GST will subsume various taxes, including excise, services tax, octroi and other levies, and the proceeds will be shared between the Centre and the states.

Under the new GST regime goods would be taxed at the point of consumption, instead of the goods being taxed multiple times at different rates.

The GST, which was first proposed a decade back, is seen as potentially transformative for India's economy, adding as much as 2 percentage points to the GDP while also improving the ease of doing business and encourage investment in manufacturing.
It is also expected to result in greater tax compliance, boosting government revenues.

With Agency Inputs