Industry, traders to press politicos on early GST rollout

Traders and industry bodies, including Ficci, will come out with a joint campaign to appeal to the political fraternity for a safe and early passage of the GST Bill in Parliament, traders' body CAIT today said.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and industry bodies such as Ficci, CII, Assocham and PHD Chamber have joined hands for the first time to launch the campaign by holding a GST conference on December 16 in New Delhi, which will be addressed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, CAIT said in a statement.

"The joint campaign is derived from the idea of reaching out to political parties and trade and industry to apprise them of the advantages and benefits of GST that could accrue if implemented early," it said.

CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said GST is "a ray of hope" to get rid of the complex taxation system since it will integrate various central and state-level taxes, which will pave the way for a simplified and rationalised tax structure.

The Constitutional Amendment Bill to roll out GST is stuck in the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling NDA is in a minority.

The government aims to roll out the proposed indirect tax regime from April 2016.