Ministry of Finance has released a draft bill of Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST Bill) today for wider consultation in the public. The draft was released in the meeting of finance minister Arun Jaitley with counterparts of 22 states and representatives of seven others in Kolkata.
“All states have virtually supported GST. Only Tamil Nadu has expressed some reservations,” Jaitley said.
The model Goods and Services Tax Bill law, which has 162 clauses and 4 schedules, has also suggested a jail term of up to 5 years and fine for violation of the provisions of the statute.
It prescribes a threshold of Rs 10 rpt 10 lakh annual turnover for applicability of the new levy and Rs 5 rpt 5 lakh for businesses in North Eastern states including Sikkim.
The bill is now open for public consultation and will be tabled in the monsoon session with government confident in the passing of the revised Bill.
Read the full text of the draft below.
