Govt commits itself to GST next fiscal

In this regard Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee raised excise duty on some goods from 4 per cent to 8 per cent to bring uniformity in the tax structure in the Budget.

"With the government's proclaimed objective of introducing a Goods and Service Tax (GST) both at the national and state level, some more steps in that direction are necessary,"  Mukherjee said in his Budget speech while announcing increase in excise duty rates on some items like nylon, yarn, filament, and LPG.

However, tax analysts said 8 per cent could be a benchmark and may not necessarily be a GST rate.

"It is a progressive tax measure announced in the Budget. Eight per cent may not necessarily turn out to be a GST rate," law firm Amarchand Mangaldas partner Aseem Chawla said.

Earlier, there was near consensus in the empowered committee of state finance ministers on the 8 per cent GST rate, sources said. However, there is no official word on it. GST is expected to replace excise duty and service tax at central and VAT at state level.