Gujarat, MP & Delhi take GST ratified tally to 8

The number of states that have ratified the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill pertaining to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has swelled to eight after the Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi legislative assemblies approved the same this week. The Bill needs to be ratified by at least 15 states before the President can notify GST Council.

Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh have already ratified the GST Bill, which aims to implement the largest tax reform in independent India. The Bill aims at replacing all central indirect levies like excise duty, countervailing duty and service tax, as also state taxes such as value added tax, entry tax and luxury tax, by a single tax pan-India.

Under the GST, there is a provision for states to collect special tax during any natural calamity or disaster, subject to approval by the GST Council.

The GST Council, once formed, will draft the subsequent Central GST, Integrated GST and State GST Bills. The Central government is keen to implement the GST by April 1, 2017, as it would send a positive signal to the industry.

Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed the GST Bill earlier this month.

Delhi is the third non-NDA state to ratify the Bill after Bihar and Himachal Pradesh.