Reasonably confident of GST Bill passage in monsoon session:FM

PTI

Jaitley said he has spoken to the chief ministers of all states, including those ruled by the UPA and the Congress, and they are a "strong supporter" of the idea.

The Congress is opposing the bill in the current form, demanding that a cap on GST rate be included in the Constitution Amendment Bill. The other two changes sought are removal of one per cent additional tax on inter-state transfer of goods and a Supreme Court judge-headed dispute resolution panel.

Jaitley said except for the additional inter-state tax, the GST Bill is verbatim of what the UPA had earlier proposed.

He expressed his willingness to consider the additional 1 per cent inter-state tax.

"... The rest of the GST Bill was verbatim the same what the UPA had introduced. And therefore, one has to analyse these after-thoughts. Now, the Parliamentary Standing Committee has approved it, the Rajya Sabha Select Committee has approved it, minus that 1 per cent...," he said.

The GST Bill, India's biggest indirect tax reform since Independence, seeks to replace a slew of central and state levies, with an aim to transform the nation of 1.3 billion people into a Customs union.

After it is approved by the Rajya Sabha, the legislation needs to be ratified by half of the 29 states for its rollout.