By TIOL News Service

PANAJI, MAY 09, 2017: THE State Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill was passed by the Goa Assembly today. The Parliament had earlier on April 6, 2017 passed four legislations to pave the way for nationwide roll-out of GST from July 1.

The Goa Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar, said that since Goa has reasonable or lesser taxes as compared to the rest of the country therefore the implementation of GST would become easier for it. According to Mr Parrikar it is going to benefit several sectors including tourism, which is one of the prominent industries in the state.

He said during the first year of the implementation of the GST, Goa will gain around Rs 600-1,000 crore due to the implementation of the new tax regime. He said that GST will force losses to the tune of Rs 700-800 crore on the state exchequer, but Goa will gain Rs 12,000 crore through new tax regime.

The Chief Minister said that nearly 18,000 small traders who registered with the state government would be educated about it (GST) by holding camps in June month this year. Special camps for traders would also be held between May 15 and 22 this year, he said.

The opposition also supported the bill on the floor of the house.