Mumbai: The Goa assembly on Tuesday ratified the goods and services tax (GST) Bill 2017 at a special sitting of the state legislature. In August last year, the Goa assembly had passed a resolution ratifying the constitutional amendments passed by Parliament in order to send the GST bill for presidential consent. On Tuesday, the Goa assembly passed the bill unanimously.
Ratification of the GST Bill 2017 by state legislatures is necessary for the proposed rollout of the new singled tax regime across the country from 1 July this year. The Parliament on 6 April passed four bills which paved the way for the introduction of GST after state assemblies ratified the bills.
Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who holds the finance portfolio, presented the resolution seeking ratification of the GST Bill. Parrikar told the House that Goa could get an additional Rs600-1,000 crore on GST rollout, though the state would also suffer a direct loss of revenue worth Rs800 crore. The loss would be offset by extra income as well as additional revenue from GST on unidentified services, Parrikar said.
In order to facilitate smooth transition from the current multiple tax regime to GST, the state government will conduct a special GST filing training for small traders in June, followed by the establishment of offline help centres in July in parts of Goa where Internet service is not available, the chief minister assured.