Nitish calls Jaitley, offers to call special Assembly sitting to pass GST

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said the state government is in support of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill and if needed, a special sitting of the Assembly will be convened to ratify the legislation.

According to reports, Nitish called up Finance Minister Arun Jaitley after the Bihar Assembly session ended on Thursday, offering to hold a special session.

Talking to reporters at the Assembly premises, Kumar said there were lots of benefits of the GST, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

"If need arises, we will call a special sitting of the Bihar Assembly to approve the GST legislation from the state," Kumar said and expressed hope the GST would come into effect from April 1, 2017.

Read: Nitish calls Jaitley, offers to call special Assembly sitting to pass GST

Kumar, who is also national president of JD(U), has expressed support for the GST Bill from the beginning and had conveyed this to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during a meeting with him recently.

Getting support from the main opposition Congress, the Rajya Sabha had last night passed a Constitution Amendment Bill on GST.

Read: GST Bill decoded: Many will reap benefits from biggest tax reform

The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 on GST has already been passed by the Lok Sabha. The GST Bill needs to be approved by Assemblies of at least half of the total 29 states.