The Chhattisgarh Goods and Service Tax Bill, 2017 was passed today by the state legislative assembly.
Chhattisgarh became the fifth state in the country to adopt and pass the state GST Bill in the country after Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana and Rajasthan.
The Bill was passed by the voice vote after discussions on it for over three hours.
In his reply to the debate over the crucial Bill, Chief Minister Raman Singh said the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bill is a big step in the direction of economic revolution in India and strengthening of the national integration.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the nation the new concept of Team India and cooperative federalism. The bill has been enacted to implement the concept of 'one nation, one tax, one market'," the chief minister said.
"The implementation of the GST Bill will strengthen the economy and encourage the growth rate of the state as well as the country," he added.
The GST Bill is aimed at simplifying the tax system and expanding the tax base, he added.
The Bill was tabled earlier in the House by Commerce and Industries Minister Amar Agarwal.
The process of passing the GST Bill is going on in all the states. Today, the Chhattisgarh assembly has made its historic contribution in this, he said.
The GST system is to be will be implemented fromJuly 1, 2017.
This is a new experience for the democracy of our country, when the governments of the Centre and the States will collect together on the principle of mutual sovereignty, he said.
There will be many benefits when GST is implemented. The role of transportation of goods via roads is of great importance in the country's economy, but it entails long queues at various inter-state checkposts involving long duration and delay in filling various types of forms, showing documents and paying fees.
This time will be saved when the GST is implemented and the transportation of goods will accelerate, said Singh.
The chief minister added that presently eight types of central taxes are there in the country, including the excise duty and the service tax, among others.
Likewise, the state governments also have eight types of taxes such as VAT, CST, entry tax, entertainment tax and so on.
By integrating all 16 types of taxes, the GST will be implemented, he added.
Equality has been brought in indirect taxes across the country through GST. India will develop as one market, which will lead to the foreign investment and also fulfill the dream of Make-in-India, Singh said.
The revenue loss to the affected states after implementation of the the GST would be compensated for the next five years and hence there is no reason to worry about the finances for the state, he added.
In the case of a uniform tax system in all states, the businessmen will be free from taxation procedures.
According to the experts' opinion, there is also a possibility of the GDP going up by 2 to 3 per cent, he added.
Meanwhile, the opposition members expressed apprehensions that the GST may entail inflation, the return of inspector raj and hardship to the small traders.
Raising the concern, Leader of the opposition T S Singhdeo asked as to why the petroleum products, electricity and excise have been kept out of the purview of the GST bill. He added that the step was creating confusion among the people.
Some of the provisions in the GST law could cause problem to the common man, the opposition members said.
Earlier, Chhattisgarh Commercial Tax Minister Agrawal said camps would be organized across the state to address the queries of traders and businessmen regarding GST.
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