Govt may advance Parl session to get GST laws approved
29/08/2016 00:50
The government is likely to advance Winter Session of Parliament by a fortnight to get supporting legislations passed and leaving the sufficient time for implementation of new indirect tax regime, as per the media reports. The Winter Session of Parliament is normally convened in the 3rd or 4th week of November but this year the government is looking at beginning the month-long session immediately after the end of festive season, said the PTI report. Further, an early Winter Session would help in getting the Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) legislations, that will paved the way for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), to be approved within November or latest by early December, government officials said, quoted PTI. The 2 are supporting legislations to the Constitutional Amendment Bill approved in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Requiring ratification by half of the 31 states for it to become a law, the Constitution Amendment Bill has already been ratified by 8 state assemblies including Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra and Haryana are likely to follow suit soon and the requisite nos may be in place by September, an official said. Government is of the view that once half of the state legislatures approve the new national sales tax regime, the GST Council - comprising Union finance minister and state finance ministers, can be nudged to quickly approve the tax rate, slabs and exemptions for it to be incorporated in the supporting legislations.
