Finance Minister Sri Arun Jaitly tabled four GST Bills namely CGST Bill , IGST Bill , UTGST Bill and Compensation Bill as Money Bills on the floor of Lok Sabha on 29th March, 2017 and after discussion the Lok Sabha has passed all these bills to pave way for introduction of GST regime in India . It has been historic event after all powerful Constitutional Body i.e. the GST Council had earlier approved all these bills . The discussion in Lok Sabha was only a procedural formality once the aforesaid bill got the assent of the Council represented by the Finance Ministers of all the States and Union Territories having legislatures . Needless to say that all the significant opposition political parties have representation in the Council through the Finance Ministers of various States and Union Territories and only after the detailed discussion in the GST Council these bills have been approved by the Council through consensus . Thus not much significant was left to the Lok Sabha to deliberate and discuss about these Bills . It is pertinent to note that since these Bills have been introduced in and passed by the Lok Sabha as Money Bills , the Rajya Sabha can not create any sort of problem in the way of enactment of these bills, particularly in the circumstances where the ruling party does not enjoy majority in the Upper House .
It is also pertinent to note that the SGST Bill is to be passed by the States Legislatures and this is to be done in the same spirit as the Central Government has done in respect of other related Four GST Bills . Since the GST Council has already approved this Bill , the State Legislatures will pass this Bill after its introduction without any amendment .It is reiterated that any amendment in this SGST Bill can only be carried out after the recommendation of the Council. Also the GST Rules , which have been uploaded by the Council in the public domain for perusal and discussion , are to be finalized on 31st March , 2017 by GST Council . This will be a milestone in the introduction of GST as it will result in uniformity of the procedures across the breadth and length of this far flung country and will contribute immensely in creating level market in this innovative fiscal taxation system .
Thus as has been announced by the Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha on 29th March,2017 , the Goods and Services Tax is going to be a reality from Ist July , 2017 and looking at the initiatives taken by the Council and the concerned Governments , this has to result in the most significant fiscal taxation reform in the country since independence and will create a win-win situation both for the subjects and the Governments .
The PEN TALKS 