The government on Wednesday expressed the hope that parliament will pass the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in the ongoing budget session for enacting the comprehensive reform of India’s indirect tax regime. “I am sure parliament will appreciate the advantages of GST…we hope it will be passed in the current session,” Economic Affairs

The government on Wednesday expressed the hope that parliament will pass the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in the ongoing budget session for enacting the comprehensive reform of India’s indirect tax regime.

“I am sure parliament will appreciate the advantages of GST…we hope it will be passed in the current session,” Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said at a post-budget interaction here organised by industry chamber Assocham

He said the government, on its part, was fully prepared with the infrastructure for implementing the new tax regime.

Regarding the budget 2016-17, Das said the government had stuck to the path of financial discipline, pegging the fiscal deficit for 2016-17 at 3.5 percent of the GDP.

“Why fiscal deficit target is important because it is about credibility of the government, especially when it had benefitted from low crude oil prices,” he said.

In this connection, he said the proposed committee on review of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act would be constituted in a month or so for giving a road map to fix the deficit target in a band rather than to the last decimal figure.