Jaitley introduces four bills on Goods and Services Tax in parliament

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday introduced four bills on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the lower house of parliament, paving the way for the government to launch the landmark tax reform.

The bills introduced are the Central GST Bill, the Integrated GST Bill, the Union Territory GST Bill, and the GST (Compensation to States) Bill.

The state assemblies will also have to pass the State GST bill before the new tax system can be rolled out later this year.

The new tax, which the government expects to implement from July 1, is the biggest tax reform since India got independence in 1947 from the British colonial rule.

The tax is expected to boost the rate of economic growth by about 0.5 percentage points, broaden the revenue base and cut compliance cost for firms.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Malini Menon)