Haryana passes SGST Act, eighth state to do so

With the Haryana assembly passing the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Act on Thursday, the number of states that have passed the law within a month of Parliament's nod to the GST bills has gone up to eight.

"The quick passage of the State GST Act by different assemblies in a time-bound manner shows the state governments' keenness to ensure there is no further delay in GST implementation in letter and spirit from July 1," a Finance Ministry statement said here on Thursday.

"The remaining states/UTs (having legislative assembly) are likely to pass the State GST Bills in their respective assemblies before the end of May, except one or two states which may pass the same early next month," the statement said.

The Haryana assembly passed the Goods and Services Tax Bill at a special session.

Telangana passed the SGST Act on April 9, Bihar on April 24, Rajasthan on April 26, Jharkhand on April 27, Chhattisgarh on April 28, Uttarakhand on May 2, and Madhya Pradesh on May 3.

Earlier, the GST Council had approved the model State GST (SGST) Bill at its 12th meeting held on March 16. The next GST Council meeting will be held in Srinagar on May 18-19.

The officers of the Department of Revenue and officials concerned of state governments have already started an outreach programme to create general awareness among the people at large and stakeholders in particular.

--IANS

mm/tsb/dg