Uttarakhand government tabled the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the assembly on Monday, which is expected to be passed today. The 2-hour assembly session was convened specially for the purpose of passing the proposed legislation. With this, Uttarakhand will become the 6th state in the country after Bihar, Telanagna, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan to adopt the bill. Trivendra Rawat government expects to implement the GST bill before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Kedarnath visit on May 3.
The GST will combine 17 different taxes into one, thus making it easier for the people to do business. (Image Source)
At present, the businesses and industries in the country have to pay at least 17 different taxes to the government. The GST will combine all these taxes into one, thus making it easier for the people to do business. Rawat expects that Uttarakhand, being a consumer-oriented state, will benefit significantly by Goods and Services Tax amendment bill, which will be put into effect nationwide from July 1.
State Finance Minister Prakash Pant believes that with the implementation of GST bill in Uttarakhand, the state revenue will increased by additional Rs. 1,000 crore. In the year 2015-16, the state received Rs. 6,096 crore in revenue in the form of VAT whereas it has increased to Rs. 7,143 crore in 2016-17. More than 75,000 traders and business entities have registered under GST while around 20,000 are still remaining.
Inputs from Hindustan