GST Bill: Green Light for One Nation One Tax.

After being subject to months of haggling and histrionics, the goods & services tax GST finally had its historic day in the rajya sabha with the passage of the bill to amend the constitution paving the way for what is popularly referred to as the concept of one nation one tax.

Barring the AIADMK which staged a walkout on the plea that it violated federalism all others, including congress voted for the bill.

Led by the former finance minister P. Chidambaram. The congress supported by members of some parties made a valiant effort to extract an assurance from finance minister Arun jaitely that as and when he would introduce the subsequent legislation to operationalize the GST it would be as finance rather than money bills. This was to ensure that they would also be voted in the rajya sabha.

     The constitutional amendment will enable both centre and the states to simultaneously levy the            GST, which will subsume all indirect taxes currently levied including excise duties and service tax.      It will be levied on consumption rather than production.