GST Bill passed in Uttarakhand
GST to be implemented in Uttarakhand from July 1 2017
The Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly today unanimously passed the Uttarakhand Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2017, to pave way for the roll out of GST on July 1. Uttarakhand Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant tabled the Bill for discussion on the last day of the special session convened yesterday.
Opposition Congress leader Indira Hriyadesh did not oppose the Bill, but made suggestions. “We have to pass the Bill already passed by Parliament to make our system in sync with the rest of the country,” she said.
She then went on to inform the House how the previous Congress government in the state had raised the concerns with the G ST council. “We were able to impress upon the council to adequately compensate states that are extending excise concessions to industries.”
“In case these industries decide to quit, we hope to be adequately compensated. Now it is up to the state government to keep an eye on the compensation, she said. The Leader of the Opposition also urged the state to keep an eye on the GDP so that it did not go down.
On the other hand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant informed the House of the merits of the Bill. “The Bill will pave way for one country, one bill. As our economy is consumer based we will benefit from service taxes that will be destination based,” he said.
Further, the Goods and Services Tax regime will lead to an end to 11 value added taxes. For paying compensation to the states, 2015-2016 has been earmarked as the base year.
