GST: State FMs to leave for South Africa for 14-day study tour

State Finance Ministers are leaving for two-week long tour to South Africa to study operations of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The central government has been trying to implement GST since 2010.

The members of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers have already visited half a dozen countries though the rollout of the new indirect tax regime is still not in sight.

"The Committee members would be leaving for South Africa on July 22 for 14 days for studying the GST framework in a federal system," a source said.

The state Finance Ministers had in the past visited Canada, European Union nations, Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, Brazil and Britain to study GST operations and dispute resolution mechanism.

The state FMs will out to South Africa soon after electing tomorrow a new chairman, a post which fell vacant after resignation of Bihar Finance Minister Sushil Modi on June 17.

The GST rollout has missed several deadlines due to of differences between the states and the Centre over contentious issue of Central Sales Tax compensation and design of the GST structure.

The Standing Committee on Finance has last week finalised views on the GST Bill, which was introduced in Parliament in 2010.

Now the states and the Centre would together finalise the draft and bring it back to Parliament.