16 years in making: Rajya Sabha passes GST Bill, finally

The much awaited GST bill has finally been passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with a unanimous vote in favour of the bill.

The GST bill that seeks to amend the constitution was a matter of long standing debate in the Rajya Sabha.

Now the house is currently voting on various amendments/clauses of the bill. The results of which will be declared later.

GST, a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the consumer will be a destination based tax.

In 2000, the Vajpayee government set up the 'Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers' with the aim of facilitating a switch from the existing national-level central excise duty and state-level sales tax model to a value added tax (VAT) model.

The rate of the bill passed today will be agreed upon by the GST council possibly in the Winter Session of the Parliament. The council will also recommend items to be kept in list and the ones to be removed.

Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation tweeted on the occasion of the passage of the bill.

Congratulations to India for historic GST reform! Extraordinary achievement by Shri @narendramodi ji and Shri @arunjaitley ji

— Jayant Sinha (@jayantsinha) August 3, 2016

In an earlier statement, Jayant Sinha had told PTI that if the bill is passed in the monsoon session then it will be possibly implemented by April 1, 2017. 

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi also took to twitter on the passage of the GST bill:

On this truly historic occasion of the passage of the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha, I thank the leaders and members of all parties.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 3, 2016

Our MPs must be congratulated for their path breaking decision to give India an indirect tax system for the 21st century. #TransformingIndia

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 3, 2016

This reform will promote @makeinindia, help exports & thus boost employment while providing enhanced revenue. #TransformingIndia

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 3, 2016

I would like to add that GST will also be the best example of cooperative federalism. Together we will take India to new heights of progress

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 3, 2016

The current dual taxation system will now be abolished and now both Centre and States will simultaneously levy GST across the value chain. 

Read: GST implementation: Way forward for India’s biggest tax reform for more information on implementation of GST bill.