1 year of GST: Timeline and everything else you want to know about biggest tax reform

New Delhi, June 1: As the Goods & Services Tax, touted as the biggest economic reform since independence, completes one year today, the government aims to take the monthly collection to Rs 1 lakh crore.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out in the intervening night of June 30 and July 1, last year, in a ceremony held in the Central Hall of Parliament.

A timeline:

2000: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpyee introduced the concept, sets up a committee headed by the then West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta to design a GST model.
2003: The Vajpayee government forms a task force under Vijay Kelkar to recommend tax reforms.
2004: Vijay Kelkar, then advisor to the Finance Ministry, recommends GST to replace the existing tax regime.
2006: GST appears in the Budget speech for the first time; Finance Minister P Chidambaram sets an ambitious April 1, 2010 as deadline for GST implementation. He says the Empowered Committee of finance ministers will prepare a road map for GST.
2008: Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers constituted.
April 30, 2008: The Empowered Committee submits a report titled 'A Model and Roadmap Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India' to the government.
November 10, 2009: Empowered Committee submits a discussion paper in the public domain on GST welcoming debate.
2009: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announces basic structure of GST as designed by Dasgupta committee; retains 2010 deadline. BJP opposes GST basic structure.
February 2010: Finance Ministry starts mission-mode computerisation of commercial taxes in states, to lay the foundation for GST rollout. Pranab Mukherjee defers GST to April 1, 2011.
March 22, 2011: UPA-II tables 115th Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha for bringing GST.
March 29, 2011: GST Bill referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance led by Yashwant Sinha.
November 2012: Finance Minister P Chidambaram held meetings with state finance ministers; decides to resolve all issues by December 31, 2012 for GST rollout.
February 2013: Declaring UPA government's resolve to introducing GST, Chidambaram in his Budget speech makes provision for Rs 9,000 crore to compensate states for losses incurred because of GST.
August 2013: Parliamentary standing committee submits report to Parliament suggesting improvements on GST. GST Bill gets ready for introduction in Parliament.
October 2013: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi opposes GST Bill saying state would incur losses worth Rs 14,000 crore every year due to GST.
2014: GST Bill cleared by Standing Committee lapses as Lok Sabha dissolves; BJP-led NDA government comes to power.
December 18, 2014: Cabinet approves 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill to GST.
December 19, 2014: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduces the Constitution (122nd) Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha; Congress objects.
February 2015: Jaitley sets April 1, 2016 as deadline for GST rollout.
May 6, 2015: Lok Sabha passes GST Constitutional Amendment Bill.
May 14, 2015: The GST Bill forwarded to joint committee of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
August 2015: Government fails to win the support of Opposition to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha where it lacks sufficient numbers.
July 2016: Centre opposes capping GST rate at 18%; gets states around.
August 2016: Congress, BJP agree to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill.
August 3, 2016: Rajya Sabha passes the Constitution Amendment Bill by two-thirds majority.
September 2, 2016: 16 states ratify GST Bill; President Pranab Mukherjee gives assent to the Bill.
September 12: Union Cabinet clears formation of GST Council
September 22-23: Council meets for first time.
November 3: GST Council agrees on four slab tax structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 % along with an additional cess on luxury and sin goods.
January 16, 2017: Jaitley announces July 1 as GST rollout deadline. Centre, states agree on contentious issue of dual control and taxing rights on goods at high sea.
February 18: GST Council finalises draft compensation bill providing to make good any revenue loss to states in first five years of GST rollout.
March 4: GST Council approves CGST and Integrated-GST bills.
March 27: Jaitley tables CGST, IGST, UT GST and Compensation bills in Parliament. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha pass all the four key GST Bills - Central GST (CGST), Integrated GST (IGST), State GST (SGST) and Union Territory GST (UTGST).
May 18: GST Council fits over 1,200 goods in one of the four tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 %. Over 80% of goods of mass consumption either exempted or taxed under 5% slab.
May 19: GST Council decides on 5, 12, 18 and 28% as service tax slabs.
Jun 21: All states except Jammu and Kashmir pass SGST law.
June 30: GST launched on the intervening night of June 30 and July 1.

(with agency inputs)