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Tax (GST) in
Lok Sabha on Friday.
GST is Indias most ambitious indirect tax reform plan, which aims to stitch together a common market by dismantling
fiscal barriers between states. It is a single national uniform tax levied across the country on all goods and services.
The indirect tax system in India is currently mired in multi-layered taxes levied by the Centre and state governments at
different stages of the supply chain such as excise duty, octroi, central sales tax (CST), value added tax (VAT) and
octroi tax, among others. In GST, all these will be subsumed under a single regime.
Here's an explainer.
What next
Parliament will have to pass it by a two-third majority and at least half of the state assemblies will have to pass for the
Constitution Amendments.
When?
The government plans to roll out GST from April 1, 2016.
What is GST?
# GST will offer a single shot solution by subsuming a welter of local levies into one system.
# States impose different taxes with varying rates on same products.
# For instance, a cars price will vary among states because of different rates of taxes such as VAT, octroi and road
tax.
# Under GST all these will be subsumed under a single tax, virtually making India a single market.
# Alcohol and tobacco will remain outside GST.
What about services
# Under current laws only the Centre can impose a tax on services.
# GST will empower states to collect service taxes.
How will it work?
# Under GST, the states and the Centre will collect identical rates of taxes on goods and services.
# For instance, if 16% is the GST rate on a good across the country, the states and the Centre will get 8% each called
the CGST and SGST rates.
What about the tax rates?
# The GST rates on goods have not been specified in the bill.
# A GST council headed by the central finance minister and represented by the state FMs will decide on the rates,
exemptions, threshold limits and dispute resolution