The proposed new goods and service tax (GST) will not be rolled out before April 2012, two years after its slated implementation date, due to continued parliamentary disruption, the Business Standard reported on Monday.
The planned nationwide indirect tax code to overhaul a complex system of state and federal levies will miss its October 2011 implementation date, as lawmakers will not be able to iron out legislative hurdles in time, the newspaper quoted unnamed finance ministry officials as saying.
Opposition protests demanding an inquiry into a $39 billion telecoms scam have paralysed parliament since November, causing a legislation logjam and setting back a number of reforms that the ruling Congress party had hoped to pass during this session.
The government had initially slated a roll-out date of last April, but have been forced to postpone the implementation twice due to resistance from opposition party-ruled states and fears over state governments losing financial autonomy.
Eliminating a multiplicity of indirect taxes would simplify the tax structure and broaden the tax base in Asia's third-largest economy, boosting economic growth, reducing production costs and increasing exports, analysts say.
