Broad consensus on GST; to bring Constitutional Amendment Bill

There is a broad consensus on GST and a Constitutional Amendment Bill for the proposed indirect tax regime would be taken up in Parliament for consideration and passage in the next few weeks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.
"Broadly there has been a consensus as far as GST is concerned. Over the next few weeks...I intend to move constitutional amendment for its passage.
"Once it is approved, the next stage would be to get the approvals of various states and then get all the subordinate amendments drafted, circulated, accepted by all government and in the course of the year present before Parliament," he said during the annual general meeting of industry body CII.

He said GST regime will become one of the important taxation reforms in India in its recent history.
Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the Finance Ministry should consider giving some share to local bodies as well in implementing Goods and Services Tax (GST).
"Give some share to local bodies, that's my request to the Finance Minister. But let us see what is going to happen. I am trying to persuade him and he is trying to persuade me," Naidu said.

The second half of the Union Budget 2015-16 begins on April 20 and the government has plans to go ahead with the Constitutional Amendment Bill on GST.

The government introduced the Bill in Lok Sabha during the Winter Session.
Jaitley recently had said that the government was trying to create an investment friendly environment, both in terms of taxation and ease of doing business.
He has already met the empowered committee of state finance minister to chalk out details in the process of implementing the single nation-wide GST regime.