Finance Minister Jaswant Singh hinted on Friday that Value Added Tax might not take off as scheduled in June as not all states have agreed to its implementation.
"Vat is an important initiative, which must not and cannot be defeated through faulty implementation," he said adding he would prefer that the measure be introduced by all states and certainly "not in a patchwork fashion."
In his opening remarks to the discussion on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, Singh said so far only 16 states were ready for implementing VAT from June 1, of which only eight have actually legislated.
An Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers would meet on April 29 to deliberate on the remaining issues, Singh said.
Singh described VAT as an important and progressive measure, which will benefit not only the states but also the total revenue structure in the country.
"It is, therefore, important to follow a uniform framework in terms of the basic structure of both the law and the rates across states for easing tax administration, avoiding distortions as well as unifying the nation's markets."
Trade and civil bodies have also pointed out scope for improvement in the VAT bills passed by the states, he said.
States also need to address the issue of non-conformity of some of the important provisions of the VAT legislations presented for presidential assent, he said.
