PM hails passage of GST bills, says 'New Year, New Law, New Bharat '

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tonight hailed the passage of GST supplementary bills by the Lok Sabha.

"Congratulations to all the countrymen over passage of the GST bills. New Year, New Law, New Bharat," he said in a tweet in Hindi soon after the legislations were passed.

With the Lok Sabha approving four supplementary legislations, the historic GST regime came a step closer to meet its July 1 target of rollout.

The Central GST Bill, 2017; The Integrated GST Bill, 2017; The GST (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017; and The Union Territory GST Bill, 2017 were passed after negation of a host of amendments moved by the opposition parties. Replying to the seven-hour-long debate, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the GST, which will usher in a uniform indirect tax regime in the country, will make commodities "slightly cheaper".