POSITIVITIES OF THE GST COUNCIL
It has just been a fortnight when the President Pranab Mukherhee signed off on the 122nd Constitutional Amendment Bill for the introduction of the Goods and services(GST) regime, work on the next steps has begun. The GST Council is being led by the Union Finance Minister and with representatives from all the States had its first meeting on September 22-23, flagging off the process of determining the nitty-gritty of the new indirect tax system and resolving differences on crucial first-principle issues. Time is of the essence as just six months remain for the April 1, 2017 deadline that the Centre has set for ringing in the GST. Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley has admitted that the deadline is 'challenging', but going by the outcomes of the first meeting of the Council, it is doable. Apart from agreeing on the rules and timetable for its meetings, the Council reached a consensus on the threshold turnover for a business to be covered by the GST, Rs. 20 Lakh , which ensures that