Amid reports of the GST roll-out getting delayed yet again,the Finance Ministry on Saturday said it will stick to the April 1,2011,deadline for introducing the new indirect tax regime as discussions with states are on in this regard. Negotiations are still going on. The date of introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST) has not been changed and we are sticking to the April 1,2011,deadline, a finance ministry spokesperson said. The GST is expected to replace excise duty,service tax on the Centres end and VAT on the states front,besides local levies,cesses and surcharges. There have been reports saying the government will miss the April 1 deadline as the Constitution Amendment Bill on GST is unlikely to be tabled in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament as there is no consensus on the issue. While agreeing to give states time,Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had emphasised in his meeting with the state GST panel that introduction of the Bill in the Monsoon Session and discussions between the Centre and states could run parallel. The priority for now is the finalisation of the draft Constitution Amendment so that the Amendment Bill may be introduced in Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon Session. It must be appreciated that the Constitutional Amendment is only an enabling provision, he had said.
