Budget may skip GST introduction

The Budget may not mention the introduction of goods and services tax from next fiscal as there are already voices expressing doubts about meeting the deadline.

Goods and services tax -- the new tax regime which would do away with most of the indirect taxes-- is scheduled to be implemented by April 1, 2010.

The Union government may restate the roadmap or modify it, only after building a consensus with the states, sources said, adding this is not likely to be in the Budget, to be presented by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on July 6.

The Centre and state governments have still not agreed on the GST rate, even though consensus may be building for eight per cent at each level.

The only broad agreement reached is that GST would be a dual rate, that is both the Centre and states would impose the tax, the rates of which probably would be the same.

In case, the government wants to implement the new taxation structure by next fiscal, it should have been ready with the draft structure by at least April this year, the sources said.

At a recent pre-budget meeting of the states' finance ministers in the capital, some states had reportedly dissented on the point of introducing GST from next fiscal and said they needed more time to implement the tax regime.