GST Launch — One Nation, One Tax

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p dir="ltr" lang="tl"> Delhi: PM Narendra Modi, FM Arun Jaitley, VP Hamid Ansari, LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and others at Parliament. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gstrollout?src=hash">#gstrollout</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GST?src=hash">#GST</a> <a href="https://t.co/8nJFgEb2wS">pic.twitter.com/8nJFgEb2wS</a></p> &mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/880840671233425408">June 30, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Passengers travelling in first class and air conditioned trains will have to shell out more for their journey after the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1.

According to the Ministry of Railways, service tax levied on tickets would go up to five per cent from 4.5 per cent.

However, non-AC travel, including that by local trains, metro and religious tours will remain exempt from the GST.

Similarly, GST on goods transport will be five per cent in place of the service tax of 4.5 per cent levied earlier with exemption for essential goods like milk and agricultural produce.

The Ministry of Railways said that it has issued a series of detailed instructions to all zonal railways and production units to ensure full compliance with GST.

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said there would be some "initial hiccups" in rolling out the Goods and Services Tax (GST), but those can be addressed.

"GST is going to bring great relief to people. I appeal to those working in the real estate to pass on to buyers the message of benefits of this tax," Naidu said after launching the new DDA housing scheme at the Nirman Bhawan here.

"In bringing out any reforms, there will be initial hiccups, but those can be addressed. The GST on one side and the RERA (Real Estate Regulation and Development) Act) on the other, will bring great relief and are a great combination. It will bring transformation and reform in the sector," the minister said.

Naidu also said issues and concerns of various states have been "identified and addressed".

Wholesale cloth shops wore a deserted look in the national capital on Friday as textile merchants kept their shutters down for the fourth consecutive day in protest against the Goods and Services Tax (GST), set to roll out from Friday midnight.

In all, around 50,000 wholesale cloth shops remained shut in the national capital this week.

A special webpage on the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which comes into effect from tomorrow, was launched today on the Press Information Bureau's (PIB) website.

"The webpage on GST is a one-stop platform for all information on the new tax regime," an official release said.

It contains press releases issued till date on the GST in both Hindi and English, besides various presentations and frequently asked questions on the new taxation system.

Traders in Uttar Pradesh staged protests against the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax today, shuttering wholesale markets, and, in Kanpur, stopping a train.

Kanpur -- the business hub of the state -- was one of the main centres of the protest, with office bearers of trade organisations participating in the protests.

Traders squatted on rail tracks and stopped the Kanpur- Pratapgarh passenger train in a protest against the new tax regime.

Reports of protests also came in from Varanasi, Allahabad, Jhansi, Faizabad, Shahjahanpur and Ghaziabad.

The Goods and Services Tax will make the textiles industry "more competitive" and help in "exponential growth" in the country, leading players in the sector said today.

"I would like to congratulate our honourable prime minister and entire Government of India for introducing the biggest transformational tax reform in India, the GST," said CMD of Raymonds Group Gautam Singhania.

Chief Statistician of India TCA Anant said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime will provide a much richer database than the tax database of the states and the central government.

"The GST is much richer database than the tax database of the Centre as well as states, because it simply integrates the two," he said at an interactive session organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce.

"12 per cent rate of GST (on fertilisers) some felt it may increase burden on farmers, so the consensus within the Council was to bring the rate down to 5 per cent," finance minister Arun Jaitley said.

Hours before nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) midnight rollout, click here to find out everything you need to know about India's new taxation system: