Maha cabinet okays state GST draft bill

Maharashtra Cabinet today approved the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) draft bill which has a provision for providing financial security to local bodies in state and protecting their autonomy.
The decision was taken in the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here this evening.
After the State GST comes into force, the sugarcane purchase tax, Central Sales tax, entry tax on vehicles, entry tax on goods, lottery tax, forest produce tax, betting tax, octroi and local bodies tax will be scrapped, a release from the CM's office said.
The local bodies will be provided with compensation, and a statement of object has been specifically mentioned in the bill. The state government will also assign some of its taxes to the local bodies, it said.

The bill also ensures that there is no compromise on the Mumbai civic body's financial autonomy, according to the release.
A special three-day session of the state legislature has been convened for the passage of the SGST bill on May 20.