PM reviews preparedness for rollout GST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting to review the preparedness for rollout for goods and services tax (GST). The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, both the Ministers of State for Finance, and senior officers from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Finance Ministry.

In order to ensure that there is no slippage on date of implementation of GST from April 1, 2017, the Prime Minister reviewed the progress made on various steps needed for the rollout of GST relating to preparation of model GST laws and rules to be framed, the establishment of IT infrastructure for both the Centre and states, training of officers of Central and state governments, and outreach for awareness of trade and industry.

The Prime Minister directed that all steps must be completed much before April 1, 2017. He observed that the GST Council would need to have intensive meetings to be able to make timely recommendations relating to its mandate provided in Article 279A, including making recommendations relating to model GST laws, GST rates, and goods and services that may be subjected to or exempted from GST.