Centre hopeful of tabling GST Bill this session

Ahead of a crucial meeting with states later today, the Centre said it hopes to table the GST Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament.
"We have another meeting this week and we expect good progress and we will be able to table it in this session," Minister of State of Finance Jayant Sinha told reporters outside Parliament.
"In the last meeting with the state Finance Ministers we made very good business," he added.
The government proposes to implement the new indirect tax regime Goods and Services Tax (GST) from April 1, 2016, which has been stuck for the past 6-7 years .

Finance Minister Arun Jaitely would be meeting the states later today to drum up consensus on the issue, after the two sides made "some headway" last week.
States had rejected the draft GST Bill last week, saying it did not address their concerns, particularly on compensation structure, entry tax and taxation of petroleum products.

States want the Centre to provide for a Compensation Fund mentioned in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.
They also want the Centre to compensate them for any loss of revenue on implementation of the GST for five years and a clause regarding compensation in the Constitution Amendment Bill.

The state governments are also keen on keeping the entry tax and petro tax out of the ambit of the GST.
In a bid to roll out the GST, which would subsume excise and service taxes, the Centre has come out with a new Constitutional Amendment Bill.
The GST roll-out has missed several deadlines because of lack of consensus among states over certain crucial issues on the proposed new indirect tax regime.