Much-awaited Good And Services Tax Bill tabled in Rajya Sabha
Posted on: 12/Aug/2015 12:08:22 PM
The much-awaited Good And Services Tax Bill for passage in the Rajya Sabha was tabled by Government on Tuesday. What is the GST? It is Goods and Services Tax.
The Goods and Services Tax is one of the main items on the finance agenda of the BJP government. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that it can raise India�s GDP by one to two per cent.The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to introduce a goods and services tax (GST) which will subsumes various Central indirect taxes, including the Central Excise Duty, Countervailing Duty, Service Tax, etc. It also subsumes State value added tax (VAT), octroi and entry tax, luxury tax, etc.
The Bill seeks to establish a GST Council tasked with optimizing tax collection for goods and services by the State and Center. The Council will consist of the Union Finance Minister (as Chairman), the Union Minister of State in charge of revenue or Finance, and the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other, nominated by each State government. Under the Bill, alcoholic liquor for human consumption is exempted from GST. Also, it will be up to the GST Council to decide when GST would be levied on various categories of fuel, including crude oil and petrol.
Parliament can decide on compensating States for up to a five-year period if States incur losses by implementation of GST.
