GST bill clear LS hurdle, now for RS test - The constitutional amendment b- Navbharat Times Photodhamal

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The constitutional amendment bill for rolling out the long-pending goods and services tax cleared the first hurdle with the legislation receiving Lok Sabha approval on Wednesday. Now, the bill faces a sterner test in the upper House, where the NDA is in a minority, and opposition parties led by the Congress are demanding that it should be sent to the standing committee.

In This Pic : Arun Jaitley

Pic Courtesy : PTI

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Congress lodged its protest by walking out of Lok Sabha even as the bill, first introduced by Pranab Mukherjee in 2011, was passed. The bill was passed by 352 votes to 37.

In This Pic : Ravi Shankar Prasad

Pic Courtesy : PTI

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Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who approached the opposition benches and thanked them after the bill was passed, had earlier assured jittery states that the Centre would compensate them for any revenue loss and assured that the new uniform indirect tax rate would be much less than 27% recommended by an expert panel.

In This Pic : Sonia Gandhi

Pic Courtesy : PTI

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The Narendra Modi government has set April 1, 2016 as the latest deadline for implementing GST, which will subsume excise, service tax, state VAT, entry tax, octroi and other state levies. But for that to happen, the constitution amendment bill needs to be cleared by Rajya Sabha and has to be endorsed by state legislatures. Subsequently, the Centre and states will decide on the tax rate and a GST Bill will have to be approved by Parliament.

In This Pic : Venkaiah Naidu

Pic Courtesy : PTI

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With the BJP and its allies in minority in Rajya Sabha, the bill is expected to face some stiff opposition as the Congress is determined to send it to a parliamentary standing committee. With most parties having made their stand clear, AIADMK, which has remained ambivalent on the issue, is key to the bill's passage.

In This Pic : Jitendra Singh

Pic Courtesy : PTI