New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asked the members of the Rajya Sabha to give their approval for Good and Service Tax (GST) Bill. This bill is known to be one of the most significant tax reform undertaken by any government after independence.
The Finance Minister also thanked the opposition party for working with him to arrive at an acceptable outline for the Bill. His thanking Congress clearly proved that both the parties had come together to pass one of the most important bill of the nation.
He further pointed out that the bill would convert India into one of the most stable economic markets and bring about the seamless transfer of goods and services.
The GST bill will not only empower the state but will also increase the revenue of the state and the Centre.
The other major benefit of the bill is that it will ensure that there is no tax on tax. GST will help in creating a customs union between all the 29 states of the country.
Inflation to come down if GST introduced:
The economists believe that in the coming years it will bring down the inflation and change the economic condition of the country.
The GST bill that has created quite a havoc among the parties and the economy was drafted as a proposal by Mr. P Chidambaram when he was in power. But Congress has insisted the current government remove the 1% tax which was allowed on the manufacturing goods that cross one border into another.
If the current party agrees to the demand than Congress has decided that the bill will not be laid out in the constitution. It will be updated to reflect on the fact that the tax is a new law.
PM Modi wants the Bill to be passed at the earliest:
On the other hand, this is a known fact that PM Narendra Modi is the biggest supporter of this bill. If the bill comes into amendments, it will add credentials to his profile.
The question arises how long it will take for the bill to become an amendment? If the bill gets passed in both the houses of Parliament, it will then has to get the approval of the 29 states. After this, a special GST council including state finance minister will be formed to give their nod on every single specific condition of the bill. It’s predicted that it would take a year or two to make it an amendment.
Optimists are hoping that the GST bill will push the economy to grow by 17 to 18 percent. Even though it’s a known fact that GST bill will push up inflation for a short time as prices of some of the goods will go higher but in the long run, it will boost business activity in the economy.
