India’s cabinet okays 4 bills for GST implementation
NEW DELHI: India’s cabinet has approved four bills to implement a planned Goods and Services Tax (GST) bills, said a government official yesterday, paving the way for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement the landmark tax reform from July.
The four bills were likely to be taken up by the Parliament this week, and a separate state GST bill in state assemblies later, said the official.
The GST Council, comprising federal and state finance ministers, has cleared all five draft laws — the Central GST, Integrated GST, state GST, Union territory GST and rules on compensating states for revenue losses.
There would be four tax slabs of five, 12, 18 and 28 per cent, plus a levy on taxes on items like cars, aerated drinks and tobacco products to compensate states for any revenue losses in the first five years.
The new tax, biggest tax reform since India’s independence in 1947, is expected to boost the rate of economic growth by about 0.5 percentage points, broaden the revenue base and cut compliance cost for firms. Reuters