Tax Reform GST Heads For July 1 Rollout, Crucial Bills Cleared

After an eight-hour debate, the Lok Sabha has passed four GST or Goods and Services Tax-related bills putting the government on course for the launch on July 1 of the country's biggest tax reform since Independence. GST will subsume a slew of indirect taxes levied by the Centre and states, transforming India into a single market. The bills will now be presented in the Rajya Sabha or Upper House of Parliament. Calling it a "very significant step forward", Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, "We seem to be on time... (we are) reasonably optimistic about meeting the deadline".