Standing Committee to submit report on GST next month

Committee takes up Constitution Amendment Bill, which is needed for implementation of GST

The decks will soon be cleared for implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the Standing Committee on Finance today deciding to finalise its report on constitution amendment bill for the big ticket taxation reform before the Monsoon Session beginning July.

"We are targeting Monsoon Session. We don't want the Committee to take blame that it is standing in the way of a progressive legislation," said a member of the Parliamentary Committee, which met here under the chairmanship of senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.

The monsoon session of Parliament is expected to begin in the third week of July.

The Committee had yesterday cleared the Companies Bill and the Benami Transaction Bill.

It is for the first time that the Committee took up for discussion the Constitution (115th) Amendment Bill, 2011, which is needed for implementation of GST, a new tax regime which will subsume taxes like excise, service tax and sales tax.

The constitutional amendment bill seeks to confer concurrent powers on the Centre and the states to make laws for levying GST on transactions for supply of goods, services or both.

The Committee has decided to hold meetings every week to expedite the finalisation of its report on the amendment bill. Thereafter, it would be taken up for consideration and passage by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

"We will meet again on weekly basis. We are meeting next Friday and will hear (Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar) Sushil Modi who is the Chairman of Empowered Group of State Finance Ministers. He has confirmed his presence," a member said.

The Standing Committee today heard Asim Dasgupta, first chairman of the empowered committee of state finance ministers. "We called him as an expert and interacted with him. He had prepared the first paper on GST," he added.

The amendment bill is the only reference which is pending with the Committee, the member said, adding, "we have disposed of all other matters referred to us prior to the Budget Session. During this Budget Session, the Committee has been referred four more bills. But those are fresh references."