Parliament passes Bills to pave way for GST

The President's consent and approval of the Assemblies are required for clearing legislative hurdles

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday cleared four goods and services tax (GST) Bills. Now, the President’s consent and approval of the Assemblies are required for clearing all legislative hurdles, before the unified indirect tax regime is rolled out. 

Before passage of the Bills, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought to allay the Opposition’s apprehension over the requirement of multiple registrations for companies and powers to arrest given to officials under the proposed GST rules.

Even as states clear their Bills, the GST Council will take up fitment of items in five slabs of GST rates and the four pending rules at