Telangana ratifies GST Bill

The Telangana Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council have unanimously passed a resolution giving their nod to the proposed Amendment to the Constitution to pass the GST (Goods and Service Tax) bill.

Telangana has become the tenth State to ratify the Bill.

A special session of the two Houses has been convened on Tuesday to exclusively to take up the issue.

Moving the resolution the Assembly, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has said that there won't be any financial loss to the State as the Bill deals only with the Commercial Taxes component of VAT and the State will continue to enjoy the taxes on petrol and Excise.

"Besides, the States will be benefited by an additional revenue stream in the form of the proposed share from the Service Tax. The Service Tax is growing at 35 per cent in the State, and we will benefit from this," he said.

Though the Bill has been okayed by the both Houses of Parliament, the Bill needs ratification by at least half of the States in order to effect an amendment to the Constitution.
Congress leader Chinna Reddy said his party welcomed the Bill that would bring in a uniform tax structure across thee country.

Protect State interests: CPM

CPM member Sunnam Rajaiah has alleged that the Bill might hurt the interests of the State. "The government must ensure that we don't face any financial losses due to the implementation of GST," he said.