NEW DELHI: Eight state assemblies have passed the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Bill in April-May as the Centre gears up to roll out the new indirect tax regime nationwide from July.

While Telangana passed the SGST Bill on April 9, the legislation was approved in Bihar on April 24. In Rajasthan, it was done on April 26, Jharkhand – April 27, Chhattisgarh – April 28, Uttarakhand – May 2, Madhya Pradesh – May 3 and Haryana – May 4, a Finance Ministry statement said on Thursday.

The remaining states/UTs (having Legislative Assemblies) are likely to pass the Bill before the end of this month, it said. Some that get left would be approving it next month. The GST Council, the top decision making body headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, had approved the model SGST Bill at its 12th Meeting on March 16 this year. The next GST Council meeting will be held at Srinagar on May 18-19 to fix the tax rates of various commodities. The central government proposes to roll out the GST from July 1. The quick passage of the State GST Act by the State Assemblies, the statement said, shows the keenness on their part to ensure timely roll out of the GST. The tax officials of the centre as well as the states have already launched the outreach programme to create general awareness among people about the new tax regime which will subsume service tax, excise and various other levies.—PTI