Four important Goods and Services Tax (GST) bills were passed in Lok Sabha, New Delhi on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the big move, and congratulated everyone calling it "New Year, New Law, New Bharat."
The government made this big move to meet the July 1 deadline for roll out of GST in the country, according to India Today. In fact, the Lok Sabha approved the four supplementary legislations only after a seven-hour debate on the new GST bills in Parliament.
In the debate, the opposition raised objections over certain clauses and prompted amendments to the new GST bills. However, the government, which has the numbers in Lok Sabha, negated the amendments and ensured the bills get cleared as it is.
The GST is an indirect taxation wherein most of the existing taxes will be merged into a single taxation system. The four new GST bills passed are - Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Bill, Integrated GST Bill, Compensation GST Bill and Union Territory GST Bill 2017.
The CGST Bill would allow the Central government to levy and collect tax on intra-state supply of goods and services. The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017, amongst the other new GST bills would provide for levy and collection of tax on inter-state supply.
Similarly, the Compensation GST Bill will provide states the compensation for the loss of revenue they may incur due to the implementation of the GST. The other bill passed in Lok Sabha amongst the four new GST bills are Union Territory Goods and Services Tax, which will allow the levy and collection of tax on intra-state supply of goods and services or both by union territories.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who led the charge in Lok Sabha, called it "a revolutionary bill" that will benefit all, according to Times Now. He stated that about 12 meetings of the GST Council were held to ensure the process of drafting and rolling out the new GST bills was based on recommendations and consensus.
