Arun Jaitley to meet State Finance Ministers today

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will chair a meeting of Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST) in New Delhi today. 

They will discuss proposed amendments to the GST Bill that has been passed by the Lok Sabha but is stuck in the Rajya Sabha.  The Bill is likely to be listed for discussion in the Rajya Sabha this week following Mr Jaitley's consultations with the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers.

Finance Minister met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the weekend, and has been earlier meeting Congress party leaders to garner



support for the proposed pan-India GST. 

The Congress has been demanding that the overall GST rate be capped at 18 per cent, as well as scrapping of an additional one per cent tax to compensate manufacturing states. 

Following a meeting of state finance ministers in Kolkata last month, Mr Jaitley announced that every state had either supported or accepted the proposed GST, except Tamil Nadu which expressed its reservations and offered suggestions. The model GST law approved at the state finance ministers meeting has, thereafter, been published, inviting comments from stakeholders.