CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill would be introduced during the Assembly session, starting June 14, Tamil Nadu finance minister D Jayakumar has said. He said this during his address at the GST council meeting, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi on Sunday.
The Assembly is scheduled to convene from the coming Wednesday, when the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax bill would be introduced for consideration and passage, Jayakumar said. A copy of the minister’s speech was released by the State government.
Pointing out that the State government was committed to rolling out the GST, he raised several demands, including keeping tax on entertainment sector at 12 per cent. “There are already local taxes imposed on that sector, so if the GST comes in, that will be like double taxation,” he said.
Another key demand he raised was lowering of tax rate on fireworks. The proposed GST of 28 per cent on the fireworks industry, which is largely located in Tamil Nadu, might harm this sector and enable imported fireworks to flood the local market, he cautioned.
The finance minister also sought tax relief on several commodities, including on water sold in refill cans, non-branded chocolates besides masala powder and other spices.
Jayakumar also thanked the GST council for agreeing to tax footwear below `500 at 5%, to place palmyra jaggery in the nil-rated category and to levy tax on textiles at a uniform lower rate.