The Narendra Modi Government is getting states on board to approve the GST within 30 days. (File)
Nine BJP states, four states where the party shares power with allies and two avowals of support. The Modi government has done its math when it says it is aiming to have GST approved by at least 15 states in the next 30 days.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has set himself a tough target of rolling out a single national tax to replace multiple indirect taxes by April 1 next year, after India's biggest tax reform was cleared by the Rajya Sabha this week.
The GST bill will now be tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday. The BJP has asked all its members to be present in the House. Once passed by the Lok Sabha, it will be sent to the state assemblies.
The BJP will do its bit. Later this month, BJP chief Amit Shah has called a meeting of all party chief ministers to discuss GST and instruct them to clear the proposal at the earliest so that next steps in its complex implementation can begin.
Almost all the NDA ruled states will have to call special sessions to pass the GST as the monsoon session of the state assemblies is over and the winter session is still a few months away.
At least two opposition-ruled states have also assured the centre that they will ensure early approval for GST in their assemblies. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called Mr Jaitley on Thursday and offered to convene a special sitting of the state assembly, which ended its monsoon session yesterday, to sign off on GST.
Equally eager to get moving on GST is West Bengal, whose finance minister Amit Mitra, as the head the empowered committee of state finance ministers, has led talks with the Centre on the tax reform.
Once at least half of India's 29 states have ratified the constitutional amendment passed by the Rajya Sabha, a GST council will be set up to determine the rate of new tax and its scope. The council will have on it representatives of both the centre and states - with the states dominating, Mr Jaitley has stressed to allay worries that the centre will sideline them.
The government's chief economic adviser has proposed a band of 17-19 per cent for the GST rate, but some states have said it must be higher than 20 per cent to offset revenue losses.
The Congress, which gave rare support to the government in the Rajya Sabha to pass the constitutional amendment that enables the bill, wants the rate of GST to be fixed at no higher than 18%.
State governments widely support the GST because it will boost their share of taxes and make cross-border trade far smoother. States that produce goods have been assured that they will be compensated for five years by the centre for the losses they will incur since the GST is applied on consumption.