GST Bill Passed in Lok Sabha | Fusion - WeRIndia

Lok Sabha passed a Bill on Goods and Services Tax on Wednesday. It is one of the major tax reforms in India since Independence Day as it is a single nationwide sales tax.

Thus, the Bill cleared its key hurdle and is agreed to be sent to a Parliamentary committee for review by the Rajya Sabha.

The proposed tax rate on goods and services is set at 27%. Arun Jaitley, the finance Minister agreed that the proposed rate was very high and it needs to be reduced. However, some states are demanding for even higher rate.

Government is working on certain exceptions and exemptions for this bill. Some of them are as follows: The tax does not apply to alcohol. Initially, petroleum products will be taxed separately. Manufacturing states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra fear to lose their revenue. To compensate it, they are allowed to impose an additional tax of 1% on supplying of goods. The bill permits the states to compensate the revenue loss for a period of 5 years.

Big consumer states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala will be benefited by this tax as GST is levied on the services where they are consumed. The Bill provides the way for a pan-India tax regime and an integrated market in the country.

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