The Goa government will hold a special session on August 31 to ratify the crucial Goods and Service Tax (GST) bill. “The state cabinet has already given its nod to the GST. We will summon a one-day special session on August 31 to ratify the Bill which is already passed in Parliament,” Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said in a report.
The bill has already been ratified in seven states. Assam was the first state to do so, while Bihar was the first non- NDA state to ratify GST. A total of 15 states have to ratify the bill in order to become a law. The central government has announced April 2017 to be the deadline for complete roll out of the bill.
Advantages of GST
- GST will be levied only at the final destination of consumption based on VAT principle and not at various points (from manufacturing to retail outlets). This will help in removing economic distortions and bring about development of a common national market.
- It will also help to build a transparent and corruption-free tax administration. Presently, a tax is levied on when a finished product moves out from a factory, which is paid by the manufacturer, and it is again levied at the retail outlet when sold.
