GST council approves Draft Compensation Bill

GST council meet took place on Saturday in Udaipur, wherein the Draft Compensation Bill was approved. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that they plan to bring the GST bill in the second phase of Budget session which begins on March 9.

However the CGST, IGST, SGST draft bills were not cleared in Saturday's meeting and will be taken up for discussion in the next meeting which will be held on March 4 and 5 in Delhi.

Addressing media after the meeting, Jaitley also added that there was discussion and clarification on delegation of power, extend of exemption of taxes and agriculture in the meeting, but a final call hasn't been taken in the matter.

He also added that if they manage to clear the legally vetted drafts in the next meeting, then they will be able to place the GST draft before the Parliament in the upcoming Budget session and discuss the laws. That would lead to speedy implementation and the state assemblies could also discuss the provisions of the bill then.

Earlier, the ninth council meeting saw no consensus being made on levying and collection of Integrated GST, a special privilege given to the Central Government with regards to imposing GST on inter-State supply of goods and services. The GST proposal is one that has been deemed as "much-awaited" by industry analysts on several occasions. It has been glorified as an amalgamation of all indirect taxes to be paid on sale, manufacture and consumption of goods and services on a national level.

Additionally, it is said to be an initiative that would simplify monitoring and collecting indirect taxes, owing to the fact that post its incorporation, indirect taxes would all fall under a single bracket.

The constitutional amendment containing the GST was passed in August 2016.

(With ANI inputs)