GST Amendment Bill Redrafted

The constitutional amendments bill for the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) was redrafted by the Indian government who suggested that the states would also be given a veto power along with the Centre in the proposed GST. The measure was mentioned in the bill so that every decision taken by the GST council is approved only when all the states and the Centre agree to it. The amended version would empower the states to levy tax on services while the Centre would be able to levy tax even after the production stage. According to the earlier draft, decision taken by the proposed GST council had to be approved by a two-third majority of the council and the Union finance minister. The earlier proposal was rejected by the states on the ground that the proposed GST would take away the fiscal autonomy enjoyed by them.