India GST progress

The passage of the Indian Goods and Services Tax implementation bill has received a boost.

The bill, the Constitution Amendment Bill, to replace VAT, CENVAT, Services Tax and many other indirect taxes had become blocked due to differences between the ruling BJP party and the opposition Congress party.

However, changes in the political make-up of the upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, means that the Bill could pass before the end of this year, leading to a 2017 implementation. The idea of a new GST regime had initially been proposed in 2003.