BJP-ruled Assam looks to pass GST bill as early as next week

BJP-ruled Assam wants to be among the first states to ratify the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill and wants the legislation to be approved by the state assembly by next week.
State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government's effort would be to get the GST Bill approved by the state assembly before the current budget session ends on August 13.
"We have very clearly offered that Assam should be one of the first states to pass the GST legislation," he said here.
If the Constitution Amendment Bill, which was approved by the Rajya Sabha yesterday and now has to be ratified by the Lok Sabha, reaches the state before August 13, the state assembly will pass it during the current session itself, he said.

"Otherwise we will convene a one-day special session to pass the bill," he said. "We want to be one of the first five states to pass the legislation."
He was speaking at a function organised to handover cheques towards differential royalty on crude oil produced in the state.

In the biggest tax reform since Independence, Rajya Sabha yesterday approved the national sales tax or GST Bill to replace a raft of different state and local taxes with a single unified value added tax system to turn the country into world's biggest single market.
The 66-year-old Constitution, which gives power to Centre to levy taxes like excise, and empowers states to collect retail sales taxes, was amended though the 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill.

At least half of the 29 state legislatures need to approve the bill, after which Parliament will have to pass two legislations-- CGST and IGST-- detailing the new tax code, including the GST rate and other modalities.
This could happen in the winter session of Parliament in November.
Similar tax laws will also have to be passed by the states.