All states agreed on July 1 GST rollout: Kerala Finance Minister

New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) All states have agreed on the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1, the GST Council announced even as the Council's 15th meeting continued here on Saturday to finalise the rate fitment of the remaining six items, including gold.

"All the states have agreed on the implementing of GST from July 1," Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac told reporters here during a pause in the GST Council meeting that will reconvene Saturday afternoon.

He also said that the Council was yet to take up the fitment of the remaining 6 items, including gold, textiles, footwear, biscuits and beedi, in the four slab tax rate structure.

The fitment of 1,211 items was decided at the Council's previous meeting held last month in Srinagar.

Earlier this week, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra had voiced serious doubts about the preparedness of the industry for GST by July 1.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who heads the GST Council, had on Thursday asked industry to fall in line as there will be no change in the date of implementation of the new indirect tax regime.

"First time in the country the consensus on indirect taxation was created through federal institution. In the Srinagar meeting of the Council, ministers of almost all states who spoke to me were absolutely clear on maintaining the July 1 date. We are in a state of preparedness for July 1," he told a media conference here.

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