NEW DELHI: India moved a step closer on Saturday towards launching
a new national sales tax from July after a panel of federal and state finance
officials finalised two key bills to be put before parliament.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has missed several launch
dates. On Saturday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the measure is on track
for a rollout from July 1 with the bills set to be discussed in parliament
after it reconvenes next week.
To meet the deadline, parliament must pass the bills, which
spell out the operational details of the new tax, before its current session
concludes in mid-April.
After a meeting with state officials in New Delhi, Jaitley told
media that the panel would meet again on March 16 to complete two more bills on
the GST that require approval from state legislatures.
“This is a very welcome
development and signifies that we are on track for (the) GST on July 1,” said
M.S. Mani, a senior director at tax consultancy Deloitte Haskins & Sells
LLP. “It is now essential that all businesses are adequately prepared to face
the new era of (the) GST.”
The long-awaited GST is hailed as India’s biggest tax overhaul
since independence in 1947, which would replace a slew of federal and state
levies, transforming Asia’s third largest economy into a single market for the
first time.
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