Arun Jaitley releases case study on GST

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday released a case study on the birth of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India titled "The GST Saga: A Story of Extraordinary National Ambition", an official statement said.

"In view of the successful roll-out of the GST on 1 July 2017, it was felt that there was a need for the public to know of the story of how GST evolved, its timeline, the different stakeholders involved and how it eventually culminated in its inauguration in the Central Hall of Parliament of India on the midnight of June 30, 2017 and July 1, 2017 by the President and Prime Minister of India," the statement said.

This case study accordingly captures the entire journey of the GST right from its ideation in the Kelkar Task Force Report in 2003.

"Other salient features such as the dates on which the SGST Laws were enacted in the 31 states, peculiarity of the Indian GST model, how the fitment of rates was done and the IT backbone of GST have also been addressed in the case study, thus, making it a concise yet comprehensive repository of the GST story," it said.

A look at the timeline of important junctures in the GST history reveals how it has come into being through support for it across the political spectrum.

Following the recommendation of the Kelkar Committee in 2004, GST appears in the Budget speech for the first time on February 28, 2006. Then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram sets April 1, 2010 as the deadline for GST implementation.

The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers is constituted in 2008.

In 2009, then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announces the basic structure of GST, which is opposed by the BJP.

In October 2013, then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi opposes the GST Bill saying the state would incur losses worth Rs 14,000 crore every year due to the new indirect tax regime.

On December 19, 2014, Finance Minister Jaitley introduces the Constitution (122nd) Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha. This time, it is the Congress that objects.

--IANS

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