Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today welcomed Rajya Sabha's approval to Constitution Amendment Bill on the Goods and Services Tax, saying the indirect tax regime will benefit the coastal state.
"Central government has introduced 'one nation one tax' regime. The thought which was started during Atal Bihari Vajpayee government's time has now become reality," Parsekar told the Legislative Assembly during a debate on the demands for grants for Commercial Tax department.
"I welcome GST bill. Being a tourism state, we will be benefited due to this regime. Central government has assured us to compensate tax (revenue loss) for five years," Parsekar said.
As GST proposes to subsume major Central and state taxes, Parsekar said his government had abolished VAT on petrol after assuming power in 2012, thus reducing its price by Rs 11 per litre.
"As of today the price of petrol in Goa is Rs 55.5 per litre which is Rs 11 lesser than the price in the neighbouring states," the CM said.
On Excise, Parsekar said his government will soon start monitoring the accurate production of liquor by bar coding.
He said the excise department has set a target of collecting Rs 358 crore in revenue during the current financial year.
