GST Bill India - Good & Service Tax Bill in Detail
GST Bill (Good and Service Tax Bill) is indirect tax system in India that covers manufacture, sale, and consumption of goods as well as all sort of services. This will was in discussion for long and was eventually passed by parliament in India in Aug 2016.
GST Bill Timeline and History
GST (Goods and Service Tax) Bill was passed by India parliament in Aug 2016. Officially the bill is called The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 and known popularly as GST Bill.
Main Dates about GST Bill:
| Date | GST Bill Milestone |
|---|---|
| 19 Dec, 2014 | Bill first published as Bill no 192 of 2014 |
| August 3, 2016 | Passed by Rajya Sabha |
| August 8, 2016 | Passed by Lok Sabha |
| Sep 8, 2016 | Bill assented Officially by President of India |
| July 1, 2017 | Date Commenced |
Due to its wide reaching implications, this bill needed to be ratified by more than half of state legislatures also as per Indian constitution. During August and Sep 2016, 23 states ratified the GST Bill successfully.
States Who did not Ratify GST Bill
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Manipur
- Tamil Nadu
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttarakhand
- West Bengal
Though as mentioned above, only half of states needed to ratify GST Bill and hence this does not impact the bill.
GST Bill - Main Points
Split of GST Tax Between Center and States
GST Tax is country wide indirect taxation in India and calculated tax is split between center and states based on rules formulated by GST council.
269A. (1) Goods and services tax on supplies in the course of inter-State trade or commerce shall be levied and collected by the Government of India and such tax shall be apportioned between the Union and the States in the manner as may be provided by Parliament by law on the recommendations of the Goods and Services Tax Council.
GST Council in GST Bill
279A. (1) The President shall, within sixty days from the date of commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016, by order, constitute a Council to be called the Goods and Services Tax Council.
GST council consists of following:
- Union Finance Minister
- Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance
- the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister
nominated by each State Government
GST Tax rates in GST Bill
As per the GST Bill, GST tax rates need to be decided by GST Council and can be modified along with time.
GST council will primarily take decision on following:
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All existing central and state tax that will be subsumed in the goods and services tax
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The threshold limit of turnover below which exemption will be provided for GST
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The rates including floor rates with bands of goods and services tax