India To Roll Out GST July 1

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, April 7 (Bernama) -- India is set to implement the goods and services tax (GST) after the GST-related Bills received approval from the Rajya Sabha, the Indian parliament's Upper House Thursday. The biggest tax reform since India's independence in 1947, the GST taxation regime, which is likely to be rolled out on July 1, will help unify the country's economy. The Rajya Sabha approved four GST supplementary legislations yesterday without amendments. Lok Sabha, the Lower House, gave the nod to four key GST provisions on March 29. The tax reform witnessed a show of political unity in the legislature. "I am extremely happy that when it is in the interest of the nation, all political parties spoke in one voice," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at a recent Rajya Sabha debate. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose government could not pass the GST law during its tenure due to a lack of consensus over GST provisions, supported the current measure. "It could be a game changer but I can't assume there will be no difficulties on the way," Manmohan said. The GST, decidedly the country's most significant economic reform, will merge central excise, service tax, value-added tax and other local levies and create one uniform market which would be administered by a GST Council. -- BERNAMA