GST Bill: Govt begins roadmap for final implementation

After the Government of India passed the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, it is now planning to work towards implementing it by April 1, 2017. 

The government will soon form GST Council to roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while speaking on the GST rate on Thursday said the GST Council,  which will comprise representatives of the Centre and states, will take a view and "draw a balance" taking into account the revenue  requirements and the need to keep the tax rates low, PTI reported on Thursday.

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

Talking about the roadmap for the roll out of GST Bill, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the government is looking at April 1, 2017, as the target date for implementation, cited the PTI report.

"Within the next 30 days, we expect 50% of the states -- about 16 -- to approve the Constitution Amendment Bill," the news agency said quoting Adhia as saying. 

The Bill, which was cleared by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday night, is likely to be approved by the Lok Sabha (Lower House) this week after incorporating changes made by the Rajya Sabha (Upper House).

The government has said that the IT infrastructure necessary for the GST Bill is ready and is likely to get it passed in the Winter session of the Parliament this week. 

Watch the full video news report here-