Passage of GST Bill paves the way for ‘One Nation, One Tax’ system

The uproar leading to the controversial GST (Goods & Services Tax) Bill in the Upper House has finally died down, with the latter being passed amidst support from all the political parties, barring AIADMK during the monsoon session of the Parliament. The Rajya Sabha passed the constitutional amendment by two-thirds majority. The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 was approved with 203 votes in favour and none against, after a seven-hour debate. The major hurdle got cleared after Congress agreed to the passage of the Bill.

The Bill will now be returned to the Lok Sabha for its approval.

GST & it’s After-Effects –  

In a recently published Frequently-asked questions, the Government explains GST as one indirect tax for the whole nation, which will make India one unified common market. GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the consumer. The new GST will do away with the double taxation that hitherto existed and the final consumer will thus bear only the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain (the consumer till now has to pay tax on tax already paid by the manufacturer). This will thus eventually try to bring down the end price to a considerable amount. In other words, the GST seeks to untangle all the other taxes (sales tax, excise, VAT) and subsume all in one single tax. Many hail it as a tremendous reform and the biggest since liberalization in 1991....Read More