PORVORIM: Government on Thursday welcomed the new Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime in the country claiming that the passing of bill in the Parliament will help the state. The Special Session of the State Legislative Assembly would be called to pass the Bill.
“The Central government has introduced one nation, one tax regime. The thought which was started during Vajpayee government regime has become reality,” Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told the State Legislative Assembly while opposing the cut motion moved to the Demands for Grants for Commercial Tax Department.
“I welcome GST bill. We being tourism state will benefit due to this regime,” he said, adding that a special session of the Assembly would be called to pass the bill, as 50 percent of the State needs to pass it to make it legislation.
Parsekar said that there is no involvement of any risk factor as the Central government has assured us to compensate tax for five years.
He was responding to the query raised by Congress MLA Mauvin Godinho, who sought to know whether government has done study of the bill as its implementation will have huge impact on the State’s finances. “State would be burdened,” he said.
Parsekar said that the Bill, passed in the Parliament on Wednesday, is being studied.
The Chief Minister pointed out that the BJP-led government after assuming power in the State in 2012 had abolished VAT on petrol reducing the price by Rs 11 per litre.
“As of today the price of petrol in Goa is Rs 55.5 per litre which is Rs 11 less than the price in the neighbouring States,” the chief minister added.
