Parliament's monsoon session to begin from July 18; government confident of GST bill's passage

Parliament's monsoon session will be held from July 18 to August 12, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu announced on Wednesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

"The session will begin from July 18... There will be 20 working days," Naidu told reporters.

Naidu also claimed that the government have enough numbers to get the GST bill passed this monsoon session.

Speaking to media, Naidu said, "Government is confident of GST bill's passage in this session. We have enough numbers but voting will be last option."

"If GST is passed, Indian economy will grow further. We have wide support, but we will like every party to be part of consensus," he added.

A fortnight ago, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that 22 states, barring Tamil Nadu were in support of the Goods and Services​ Tax (GST) Bill.

Targeting April 2017 for the rollout of  GST , the government is betting on support from smaller regional parties to pass the national sales tax legislation in the Parliament session from next month, and expects approval for supporting laws by year-end.

GST was earlier planned to be introduced from April 1 this year, converting 29 states into a single market through the new indirect tax regime, but the deadline was missed as the bill to roll it out remains stalled in the opposition- dominated Rajya Sabha.

After Parliament approves the constitutional amendment to allow GST, it needs to be ratified by more than half of states.