Select panel on GST Bill to submit report next month

New York: A Parliamentary panel will in the second week of July submit its report on the Goods and Services Tax Bill, which is stuck in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on June 18.

The Upper House will take up for the passage in the ensuing Monsoon session of Parliament the Constitutional Amendment Bill for rollout of GST in place of all indirect taxes, once the Select Committee gives its report.

The Minister told business community here that the government will try to get the three supporting legislations for the implementation of the comprehensive indirect tax law in the subsequent sessions of Parliament. The government proposes to implement the GST from April 1, 2016, he said, adding "what we have on the table is the consensus proposal."

"It's (GST Bill) now before a select committee of the Upper House which I am told by the second week of July much before the next session of Parliament begins is going to submit its report and therefore the work has significantly enhanced as far as that areas is concerned," he said here.

"The Lower House has passed it. Even though principal opposition party wanted to defer it by somehow referring it to a committee...the significant part was almost every other political parties including the allies of the principal opposition party supported the Bill and the principal opposition party also did not oppose the Bill they wanted further discussion on it," he said.

Touted as the single biggest indirect tax reform since independence, the GST will subsume various levies like excise duty, service tax, entry tax and octroi. With regard to direct taxes, Jaitley said he said that the government would start the process of reducing corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent from the next fiscal.

"Our taxation structure needs to be streamlined and in the last one year we have laid down a clear raodmap. On direct tax side, our corporate tax is going to be brought down to 25 per cent that process begins next year and every year over a period of four years for 30 per cent plus some surcharge we bring it down to 25 per cent almost globally competitive," Jaitley said.

The alternative investment trust model is in place, he added. He said that the government is working on easing the process of doing business. "Legal complications have been removed. Our Companies Act was little complicated...we have done one round of amendment hopefully we have to do some more. Numbers of permission are required to be significantly cut down many of them are going to be online," he said.

India is union of states, Jaitley said, adding, "we popularly use to use the word cooperative federalism...We have added another dimension that the regions in India are in the process of competitive federalism."

Therefore, he said "one state wants to grow faster than the other region, he is going to liberalise his processes far more easier that he becomes target or destination for important investment." At least three states have taken the lead, which have started labour market reform, he added.