New Delhi: The Centre and the states on Monday reached an agreement on the Goods and Services Tax according to which the Centre will keep petroleum products out of the purview of GST for a few years and, in return, the states will not demand that entry tax be kept out of GST.
GST is a major indirect tax reform that will bring down tax rates by removing different types of Central and state taxes and will also make movement of goods across India easier. The new tax regime is proposed from April 2016.
On the other controversial issue, that of compensating the states for revenue loss due to GST, the finance ministry will seek legal opinion on how it can be accommodated in the Constitution amendment Bill. The Centre is keen to introduce the Bill on GST in the current session of Parliament.
