Parliamentary panel on GST Bill to submit report by next month: Jaitley
A parliamentary panel set up to review GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill is likely to submit its report next month. The GST Bill which has already been approved by the Lok Sabha will be presented for discussion in the Rajya Sabha in the coming Monsoon Session, according to reports. The panel is expected to submit its report in the second week of July, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is reported to have said on Friday. The government says that the proposed legislation will streamline the tax rules by abolishing VAT (Value Added Tax), sales taxes, Octroi and other indirect taxes. According to the new law, there will be a uniform tax regime to be implemented over the trade of goods and services across the country. The government has proposed to implement the new tax law from April 2016. However, many concerns have been raised against it. A provision that seeks to levy additional 1% tax on transfer of goods and services from one state to another was one of the major concerns for tax payers. Sharing tax revenue, especially in cases of business transactions involving more than one State boundaries, was also a matter of dispute. The government had set up a GST Council with representatives from States to address their issues and build a consensus over the Bill. Earlier this week, the Finance Ministry had constituted a committee to monitor the progress of technical preparedness of tax authorities. “The committee shall also monitor the progress on consultations with various stakeholders like trade and industry and training of officers,” the ministry had said in a statement. A separate committee has also been formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Economic Advisor, which will recommend possible tax rates under GST without affecting the revenue collection of the Centre and States.
June 19, 2015 | 7:38 pm IST.
to success.