GST finally gets House approval

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill finally got the parliamentary nod on Monday after the Lok Sa-bha passed the amendme-nts to the Constitution (122nd) Amendment Bill. The bill was approved by the Rajya Sabha last week.

With the AIADMK staging a walkout, the amendments to the GST Bill we-re passed by 443 MPs voting, while none opposed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his hour-long intervention, hailed the bill, which would end “tax terrorism”, while proving to be an effective tool to curb black money.

The Lok Sabha had first passed the GST Bill in May 2015, after which it had gone to the Rajya Sabha where it was referred to a joint select committee. Afterwards the bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha last week.

The government had moved six official amendments, including scrapping of 1 per cent additional tax, to the bill which were approved by the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha discussed the bill for about six hours, with near unanimity seen cutting across party lines in favour of the legislation.

The PM acknowledged the support of all the parties for the bill and lauded the members for heralding major taxation reforms in the country.

“The passage of the GST Bill has reflected the maturity of the Indian democracy as such a crucial legislation was approved with consensus rather than on the basis of numbers. It’s a great step by Team India, which will help transform the economy, bring in transparency and bring in the system of one country one tax,” Mr Modi remarked.

Meanwhile, finance minister Arun Jaitley, while replying to the debate in the House, said that the tax rate under the GST regime would be kept at “a minimum workable rate” as no state government can annoy its people by having a higher rate. He added that the rate would be decided by the GST Council.