With 352 votes in favour, the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill for introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) sailed through the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The fierce opposition displayed by the Congress, the BJD and the CPI(M) on Tuesday did not translate into hurdles for the government.
The Congress, in fact, walked out of the House, effectively helping the passage of the Bill while the BJD and the CPI(M) voted in favour. Only 37 votes were cast against the Bill — by the AIADMK members.
The Bill proposes to empower both States and the Centre to levy the GST, which will subsume the services tax, excise duties, stamp duties, entry tax and central sales tax.
It proposes that the Centre be empowered to tax sales of goods and States get to tax services.
It has been estimated that the efficiency and savings from the shift to a well-designed GST regime can boost India’s growth by up to 2.5 percentage points.
