UP Legislators To Be Schooled On Goods And Services Tax

Lucknow: A workshop on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be held for all members of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly and the Legislative Council on May 15 - first day of the assembly session here.

The workshop will be organised at Lok Bhawan as per the direction of Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit.

An official statement from the Speaker's office said the legislators will be provided with adequate information on GST.

"MLAs and MLCs of all political parties have been invited for this workshop. All aspects of GST passed by the Lok Sabha will be explained to the legislators," it said.

This will be the first session of the UP Assembly after the BJP stormed to power in the state by a thumping majority.

On May 2, the state cabinet had approved a draft bill for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax in the state. The proposed legislation will be tabled in the assembly during the session commencing on May 15.

After the Bill is passed by the assembly, where the BJP has a three-fourth majority, Uttar Pradesh will join states like Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Telangana, Bihar and Rajasthan whose legislatures have given their nod to the indirect tax regime.

"After the new tax regime is implemented, revenue of the state is likely to increase," UP minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said.

"If there is any burden on the state exchequer due to the implementation of GST, the government will meet the demands for the next five years. Petroleum products, however, will not be covered under GST," he said.

The Narendra Modi government at the Centre is keen on rolling out GST from July 1.

Four key GST legislations -- the Central GST Act, the Integrated GST Act, the GST (Compensation to States) Act and the Union Territory GST Act -- were passed by the Parliament in its last session.

The four legislations, which have since got the President's assent, aim to pave way for the roll out of GST from July one.

Seen as a path breaking step in the taxation regime, GST is expected to create a congenial and cohesive atmosphere for business in the country.

Different indirect taxes like the central excise duty, central sales tax and service tax are to be merged with the C-GST, while S-GST will subsume state sales tax, VAT, luxury tax and entertainment tax.