India clears bill to ease introduction of new taxes

Bloomberg

A panel of state finance ministers cleared a bill that will compensate states for any revenue lost as a new nationwide goods and services tax is introduced in July.
The government will now present the compensation bill in the second phase of the parliament’s budget session, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters in the northwestern city of Udaipur on Saturday. The next meeting of the state ministers’ panel on March 4-5 will also discuss other laws that have to be passed before the July deadline, he said.
Lawmakers need to approve three bills to meet the government’s deadline of implementing the goods and services tax on July 1, and also frame rules about rates for various products and services.
The GST will replace a web of levies that delay trade traffic, increase costs and discourage compliance.