Hyderabad: TS is aiming to become one among the first 10 states in the country to ratify the GST Bill. The state government is planning to convene a special session of Legislative Assembly either in the last week of this month or first week of September to ratify the Bill.
Assam became the first state in the country to ratify the GST Bill on Friday.
The GST Constitutional Amendment Bill needs to be ratified by at least 16 of the 31 states, including the Assemblies of Union Territories Delhi and Puducherry, before it can receive the President’s assent.
Following this, the empowered committee of states' finance ministers would turn into the GST Council to draft the subsequent Central GST, Integrated GST tax rates.
Sources said Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi, Goa and Maharashtra are likely to ratify the Bill by the first week of September taking the total to six states.
The sources added that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had already discussed the issue with ministers and officials in this regard and asked them to make arrangements accordingly.
Mr Rao is planning to convene a Cabinet meeting on August 19 or 20 to approve the draft GST Bill besides finalising the schedule for special session of Legislative Assembly.
Since the police machinery in the state would be busy with security arrangements for Ganesh festival from September 5 till September 15, Mr Rao wants to close the special Assembly session before these days.
The TRS had extended complete support for the passage of GST Bill in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha recently and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had thanked Mr Rao during his public meeting address in Gajwel last Sunday.
