Assembly unanimously passes State GST Bill

The Delhi Assembly on Wednesday passed the State Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal pitched for capping the tax rate at a maximum of 10 per cent.

Wednesday's special session – which saw clashes between a few Aam Aadmi Party MLAs and sacked minister Kapil Mishra – cleared the bill following extensive discussion, while also adopting a resolution on lowering tax slabs.

With the unanimous passing of the State GST Bill – which was tabled by state Finance Minister Manish Sisodia – Delhi became the 12th state to get on the GST bandwagon.

"Delhi is the 12th Assembly passing the GST Bill. In principle, this Bill is good for the traders. However, several traders have raised concerns over higher tax slab on different commodities

and services. I will raise these concerns in the next GST Council meeting on June 3," Sisodia said.

Dubbing the Bill as the "biggest tax reform of independent India", Sisodia said that the GST's focus should be public-centric and not officer-centric. The Parliament had on April 6 passed four legislations to pave the way for nationwide roll-out of GST from July 1.

Talking to reporters outside the House, Kejriwal said under the GST regime, tax slabs should be 10 per cent, 5 per cent each for the Centre and the states, claiming that higher tax slabs may trigger inflation.

"GST is the biggest tax reform and in principle we all are with it. But we have concerns pertaining to its implementation. We believe higher tax slabs may trigger inflation and it will not be good for the country.

"The more the tax rate, the less the compliance. Lower tax slabs would lead to more tax collection. We brought down tax rate on many items in Delhi and reaped benefits," Kejriwal said.

The GST Council has approved four-tier tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent plus an additional cess on demerit goods like luxury cars, aerated drinks and tobacco products.