THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac on Monday informed the Assembly the state is all set to implement the Goods and Services Tax(GST) from July 1. He was replying to the discussion on the proposed Kerala Finance Bill, 2017.
According to Isaac, the state was ready with the GST module and the modernisation of check posts will take place soon. Moreover, the state was fully computerised ahead of GST implementation, he said.
However, post-GST, the state will lose its right over tax. Moreover, he said Kerala, which has been spending a great deal of money on welfare programmes, will find the going tough.
The Finance Minister told the House the state government had sought a higher tax (about 28 per cent) on lotteries in the GST bracket in a bid to rein in the lottery mafia. With lottery being included in the GST bracket, there is a strong possibility of the lotteries from other states setting up shop in Kerala, Isaac said.
On the need for the Finance Bill, he said the main aim of the Bill is to collect tax arrears for which an amnesty scheme has been announced. It aims to collect tax arrears totalling `1,500-`2,000 crore, he said.
With several thousand appeals pending,Isaac said one of the proposals made as part of the Finance Bill was for settling the arrears by availing a complete reduction of the interest on tax amount and the penal interest. Another proposal is to formulate special schemes for the speedy disposal of assessments and reassessment. The Kerala Finance Bill, 2017 was referred to the Subject Committee of the Assembly.