Government defers announcement on GST roll-out till month-end

The government has deferred an announcement on the roll-out of the general sales tax (GST) until the month-end as there was no consensus on the issue so far and the finance minister too was preoccupied with work related to the Budget.

The GST is to be rolled out across the country beginning 1 April 2010 and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is yet to apply his mind on the issue, official sources said.

"We will meet by month end and hope to finalise the dates and rates," Asim Dasgupta who heads the empowered committee of state finance ministers on GST, said after a meeting with the finance minister.
 
"Regarding GST, he requested for some more time because of his preoccupation with the preparation of union budget. He requested us to come to him for discussion on a date later within this month," Dasgupta said.

The government has started the process of consultations and meetings with various groups for the Budget 2010-11 and it is unlikely that an announcement on the GST is made in the Budget.

GST will do away with almost all indirect central taxes like excise and service tax and VAT and octroi at the state's level.