Orissa will demand deferment of implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by a year, State Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadhei said.

Mr Ghadhei said he would make the demand at the two-day long meeting of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers beginning in New Delhi to discuss the proposed structure and road map of GST.

He said originally the GST was scheduled to be introduced in April 2010. But so far no preparation had been made either by the state or centre.

Mr Ghadei said the GST could not be implemented this year as the Constitution has to be amended by the Union government and the state government would ratify it.

The state government, he said, would demand deferment of the introduction of the GST to April 2011. This apart the government, he said, would also demand continuance of the two per cent Central Sales Tax (CST) and four per cent VAT on food grains.

The state government had targetted to earn Rs 600 crore from CST and more than Rs 300 crore from VAT on foodgrains this year, Mr Ghadhei said.