Retaining the GST rate assumes importance since states are under pressure to increase their revenues, hit hard by lockdown. Also, the Centre has not fully compensated states for their revenue losses on account of GST for 2019-20.
"The industry is looking at a rate of 12-16 per cent. So, it entirely depends on how it gets. But the bigger concern is how the GST is applied," said R Chandrashekhar, president of Nasscom.
Its officers would wear black bands on Monday, which is also Martyrs day, the IRS Association (Customs and Central Excise) has said.
The government on Wednesday decided not to hold special session of Parliament to pass the constitution amendment bill for rolling out Goods and Services Tax and will recommend to the President to prorogue the Monsoon Session.
The minister said he was able to build consensus on VAT when he was the Finance Minister during the UPA-I term.
The object of the government policy cannot be such that luxury items become cheaper, pointed out Jaitley.
The finance minister said the government was open to suggestions.
The finance minister is "reasonably confident" that when it comes to the crunch, "it would be extremely difficult even for the Congress party to take a contrarian view" on the GST Bill.
"After the meeting which took place in Srinagar last week, it is safe to say that GST will be levied across the country starting July 1," Gangwar told ANI.
GST Bill needs a two-thirds majority in each House.
Modi said the Goods and Services Tax has within one year of its launch led to over 70 per cent jump in indirect taxpayer base, demolished check-posts and merged 17 taxes and 23 cesses into one single tax.
States will have exclusive control over all dealers up to a revenue threshold of Rs 1.5 crore in a year
"If there is proper debate in parliament, followed by a vote, then even without the Congress' support, we have a chance to pass it," says Union Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha.
'There is global appreciation of the fact that India has the capacity and courage to carry out structural reforms like demonetisation and GST,' the finance minister said.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday took up the four bills related to the GST, with the Opposition urging the government to insulate taxpayers from harassment and questioning how the new regime was "ideal" when 40 per cent of the revenue base of the GDP was kept out of its purview.
The states which achieved "extraordinary growth" in total taxes collected include Kerala (44 per cent), Jharkhand (20 per cent), Rajasthan (14 per cent), Uttarakhand (13 per cent) and Maharashtra (11 per cent), an official statement said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appealed to parties to rise above partisan considerations to support it.
The rising goods and services tax (GST) and personal income-tax collections may bolster the Narendra Modi government's ability to announce new schemes or enhance existing ones.
All eyes will be on whether Sitharaman will deliver a populist budget leaving more money in hands of the common man or push the reform agenda by staying on the fiscal glide path to lower the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26.
The question on who should borrow from the market and whether the borrowing will be under two buckets should be decided by the GST Council, and not by the Centre. If there is no consensus, there has to be a vote, says A K Bhattacharya.
The panel decided to omit the reverse charge mechanism (RCM) clause from the GST law under which registered taxpayers buying from unregistered taxpayers have to deposit the GST.
The recent 'revelation' by TN fishers freed by Sri Lanka after they had paid up Lankan rupees 50,000 each in fines, that their hair was tonsured in prison and they were forced to remove their garments other than the underpants, and were also made to clean toilets, as if with vengeance, has touched a raw nerve this time, just as another issue or issues had done it ahead of the Jallikattu protests, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
There could be a strong incentive for tax payers to avoid the higher tax burden.
Addressing a business conference, Jaitley said it was important to stay on the path of reform and build momentum to achieve higher economic growth.
Laying the roadmap for the introduction of a goods and service tax (GST), state governments on Tuesday proposed a dual GST structure, with two rates for goods and a single rate for services. The tax would be levied both by the Centre and the states, though there is still no clarity when the new tax regime will be implemented.
The Council also discussed process to make return filing simpler with just one return to be filed every month.
"This rationalisation is 3-4 month exercise," he said, adding that the GST Council decided on the rate cut on the recommendation of a Fitment Committee.
The panel suggested inclusion of alcohol and petroleum products in GST, as is being demanded by the Congress.
He also said GST will take about a year to stabilise.
He's the hero for forging consensus on GST, popular in the Left Front and among his students, but industrialists are less than enamoured.
With just eight days left for the winter session, Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minster M Venkaiah Naidu held consultations with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Leader Anand Sharma.
Dosa batter, custard powder, kitchen lighter may become cheaper under GST
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
Fiscal federalism should not be sacrificed at the altar of GST.
'If petro products are brought into GST, then there will be minor impact on the incidence of tax... and minor impact on prices. The price of petrol, diesel will continue to be driven by global factors'
Modi on Friday invited the Congress leaders at his Race Course Road residence at 7 PM, sources said.
Enthused by the consensus in reaching four-tiered GST tax structure, particularly the unanimity achieved with Congress-ruled states, senior government sources were confident that the Central GST and Integrated GST Bills will be passed by both the Houses.
The transition to a single, nationwide tax on goods and services will streamline business and boost the economy by tearing down barriers between 31 states and union territories.
'I found it unbelievable that L&T said 45,000 jobs were waiting to be filled because of unavailability of suitable skillsets.' 'So, when the Opposition sweepingly says there are no jobs, I'm sorry... I'm not saying it's raining jobs, but there are jobs. The (skill) gap has to be bridged.'
At present, except Trai, all regulators and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) have powers to levy penalty in case of violation of any rule or law. The GST anti-profiteering authority will be the only institution which will not have the same.
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