This will be the first
meeting of the Empowered Committee after the presentation of the Budget on
February 28. There has been a lull on the GST front. The Centre had earlier
announced its intent to roll out GST from April 1, 2010. However, this target
could not be met.
Even as much headway has not been achieved in terms of consensus between the
Centre and the States on aspects such as the GST design and rate structure, the
Empowered Committee Chairman, Dr Asim Dasgupta, today expressed confidence that
the target date of April 1, 2011 would be met.
The proposed dual GST design would entail Constitutional amendments if the
States are to be given fiscal powers to levy service tax and the Centre the
power to levy VAT up to the retail stage. Fiscal experts see the Constitutional
amendment as a hurdle that needs to be overcome to ensure dual-GST
implementation.
“I think there will be solutions to the problems. I am confident about meeting
the target of April 1,” Dr Dasgupta told reporters after an hour-long meeting
with the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, here at North Block.
Without outlining specifics of the meeting, Dr Dasgupta noted that all relevant
issues relating to the introduction of GST were discussed.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine,
