'One of the most significant moments in our economic history'

The Rajya Sabha today unanimously passed the historic Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, paving the way for its rollout likely by April next year.Tax experts hailed the move with some terming the development as one of the most important moments in the economic history of independent India.Not without reason, for GST aims to cut down the country's labyrinthine indirect tax structure comprising multitudes of levies into a single, uncomplicated tax."This is the dawn of new wonderful era," Rohan Shah, Managing Partner of ELP said. "As a nation, we should congratulate ourselves."Following the passage of the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill, the draft GST Bills will now be created by the GST Bill, which will then be ratified by states and the Parliament.The government should now focus that the final version of the GST Bill is finetuned and in good shape, said Amit Sarkar of Grant Thornton. "But all of us can heave a sigh of relief."Rohan Shah added that two important things to look forward to: that the nature of the GST Council is only recommendatory in nature and that how the dispute resolution mechanism shapes up.GST's benefits are many: it will widen the tax base by easing compliances, boost ease of doing business, reduce the overall tax rate in the economy and thus help investment and boost growth. Being value-added in nature, it will also eliminate the economically-negative practice of levying tax on tax. Further, by doing away by differential tax structures in various states, GST will for the first time create a national market and boost inter-state trade."This will facilitate borderless trade. In a digital economy where borders don't matter, it is a proud moment," Sandeep Ladda E-Commerce Leader, PwC, said.