‘One Nation, One Tax’: GST Bill passed in Rajya Sabha

Earlier, speaking in the Upper House, Congress MP and former finance minister P Chidambaram had urged the government to cap the GST rate at 18 per cent. The Congress party had also imposed a condition on the government that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley must assure the House that the GST-related bills will be finance bills and not money bills, as they ought to be discussed in both Houses.

Also read | The ayes have it, GST Amendment Bill passed in Rajya Sabha

The discussion on the GST bill came after months of discussions between the ruling party and the opposition – with both sides meeting multiple times to negotiate amendments. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha in May, 2016 but in the Upper House, it was referred to a 21-member Select Committee, which submitted its report in July 2015. The bill has not been tabled in Rajya Sabha since then owing to several key objections raised by opposition parties.

The proposed GST would subsume various central (Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duty, service tax, Countervailing or Additional Customs Duty, Special Additional Duty of Customs, etc.), as well as state-level indirect taxes (VAT/sales tax, purchase tax, entertainment tax, luxury tax, octroi, entry tax, etc). Once the Bill is passed, there will only be a national-level central GST and a state-level GST spanning the entire value chain for all goods and services, with some exemptions.

Here is Twitterati reacts to the GST bill:

On this truly historic occasion of the passage of the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha, I thank the leaders and members of all parties.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 3, 2016

GST will lead to ‘One Nation, One Tax’, empower States and increase their revenues. It reaffirms PM’s commitment to cooperative federalism.

They made half a promise, if they will bring it as finance bill or money bill. I’m half satisfied: P Chidambaram.

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 3, 2016

GST will lead to ‘One Nation, One Tax’, empower States and increase their revenues. It reaffirms PM’s commitment to cooperative federalism.

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 3, 2016

#GST will not only improve ease of doing business, reduce the burden of taxes on people but also make “One Nation, One Tax” a reality.

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# I congratulate Arun Jaitley ji & Narendra Modi  ji for bringing in economic integration of India by introducing GST Bill:  Chhattisgarh CM

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) August 3, 2016

Passage of GST Bill is a historic day for economy. Fact that almost all parties supported biggest tax reform reflects strength of democracy.

— ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) August 3, 2016

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cuts a cake after passage of #GST Constitutional Amendment Bill passed in Rajya Sabha.

It’s long overdue.EU(28 nations) has more integrated common market than India!GST removes barriers &promotes growth. https://t.co/R3UO6jMDEq

— Jayaprakash Narayan (@JP_LOKSATTA) August 3, 2016

Congratulations to India for historic GST reform! Extraordinary achievement by Shri @narendramodi ji and Shri @arunjaitley ji

— Jayant Sinha (@jayantsinha) August 3, 2016

GST big moment for India. Signal to world that we can steer tough policy through our political system. Good monsoons , Goods tax, Good days!

— Uday Kotak (@udaykotak) August 3, 2016

Still doubt it to be a money bill. FM has assured us that he will talk to us before passing it: Kapil Sibal on GST

Welcome passage of #GSTBill! Digital commerce removed geographical barriers, GST will remove tax barriers. One India means faster growth.

— Kunal Bahl (@1kunalbahl) August 3, 2016

With GST, GDP will grow by 1.5 %. This GST will develop the state and country at a faster rate: Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh

GST will proved to be a “milestone” in ensuring “corruption-free & development oriented” economy. Historic day for Rajya Sabha today….

— Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (@naqvimukhtar) August 3, 2016

“Passage of #GSTBill concludes process of political integration initiated by #SardarPatel by also bringing economic integration,” said Raman Singh.