Assam becomes first state to pass Constitution Amendment Bill on GST

Guwahati (Assam), Aug 12 (ANI): Assam has become the first state to ratify Constitution Amendment Bill related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), following its passage by both houses of Parliament this month, said Chief Minister Sarbanada Sonowal on Friday. Hailing the GST as a revolutionary bill, Sonowal said the new tax regime will benefit the common people of the country. "Today a resolution has been passed in Assam legislative assembly to ratify the Constitution Amendment Bill relating to Goods and Services Tax (GST). Assam will be remembered as the first state in the country to ratify the Constitution Amendment Bill," Sonowal told ANI. "The GST has been unanimously been passed by both houses of the Parliament. This is a revolutionary initiative and this particular new tax regime will benefit the common people of the country and I am sure this particular transparency in tax regime will defiantly help to be part in this nobel endeavor for over all development of the country," he added. At least 50 percent of the states have to pass the Constitution 122 Amendment Bill, 2014, for the next steps of legislative action to follow to ultimately introduce a pan-India Goods and Services Tax regime. Earlier this month, the GST Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha with the thumping majority of 203 votes. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) members, however, walked out of the Upper House and abstained from voting. The amendments to the Goods and Services Tax bill were cleared by the Lok Sabha unanimously on August 8. The earlier bill, which was passed in 2015 in Lok Sabha, was finally passed in the Rajya Sabha last week months after Opposition parties led by the Congress demanded certain changes in the bill. The GST is aimed at bringing uniform tax regime in the country by subsuming state levies. Under it, a single rate of GST will replace various taxes to ensure seamless transfer of goods and services. (ANI)