GUWAHATI, Aug 12 - Assam today became the first state in the country to ratify the Goods and Services Tax Constitution Amendment Bill after it was passed by the Parliament recently.
The Assam Legislative Assembly passed the Bill unanimously, although opposition parties like the Congress and AIUDF sought a discussion on the issue to evaluate and assess the impact of GST on the State.
�I declare the Bill to be unanimously ratified by the Assam State Assembly,� Speaker Ranjeet Dass said after State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma introduced the Bill for ratification in the Assembly.
Sarma, after laying the Bill in the Assembly for ratification, assured the House that the Bill, in no way, would hurt the revenue health of the State. �Instead, for a consumer state like Assam, it would prove to be more than beneficial,� Sarma told the House, asserting that this would send a positive signal to the industry.
�The GST will usher in a new era of tax regime and as far as the tax losses of the State is concerned, the Centre will provide grant-in-aid to the State for the next five years. Further, service tax, which used to be an exclusive domain of the Centre, will now be the prerogative of the State Government, something that will cover up for the tax losses,� Sarma pointed out.
He also informed the House that alcohol would permanently remain outside the purview of the GST, while the State would continue to levy tax on petroleum products, natural gas and tobacco, which would protect 30 per cent of the State�s total tax collection, at least for the time being. �Of the total Central GST collection, 42 per cent tax will be given back to the State again,� the minister said.
�For the Northeast and Himalayan states, the GST Council, which will be headed by the Union Finance Minister as its chairman, can allow special concession as and when deemed fit, which will in a way protect the interest of the region,� Sarma opined.
He further clarified that the Guwahati Municipal Corporation and the other local self bodies would continue to collect taxes on their own and the GST would have no effect on them. �The new tax regime will act as a blessing for the State and will help Assam grow. The GST will be a crucial step towards making the State self reliant,� he added.
Later, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also termed the development as a historic one.
The new regime seeks to include all central indirect levies to create a single, pan-India taxation policy.