FinMin will now focus on GST: Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said that with the Parliament session over now, his ministry will focus on the rollout of Goods and Services Tax, the new indirect taxes regime that has been in the works for long.
As the Parliament session is over, the government will now start work on GST and soon take a decision on the CST compensation issue, Jaitley told reporters here.
The GST will subsume indirect taxes like excise duty and service tax at the central level and VAT on the states front, besides local levies.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill, prepared by the previous UPA government in 2011 to pave way for rolling out GST, is yet to see the light of the day.

The GST rollout has missed several deadlines on account of differences over contentious issue of CST compensation and design of the GST structure between the states and the Centre.
Committing to expeditious roll out of GST, Jaitley had in Budget speech said that a solution to the issues relating to the comprehensive indirect tax regime may be finalised in the current year itself.

Replying to a question on the fate of the Insurance Bill, Jaitley expressed the hope that it will get through sooner or later. The government today referred the controversial Bill to the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha.

The Bill, which proposes to hike FDI limit in insurance sector to 49 per cent, was caught in logjam with the Congress- led opposition insisting that certain new provisions incorporated in the bill require a fresh look and expert consideration.
This Parliament session has been successful, Jaitley said.
The Budget session of Parliament, the first of the Narendra Modi government, ended today reflecting the changed political reality with fewer disruptions and adjournments, and more debates and discussions unlike in the recent past.