GST IT strategy proposes national IT infrastructure to operationalise tax administration; draft to be refined with stakeholders.
IT strategy to enable GST implementation proposes a national IT infrastructure and operational framework to support registration, return filing, tax administration and intergovernmental coordination; the draft by the Empowered Group on IT Infrastructure on GST is intended as a technical blueprint to be refined through stakeholder and expert consultations.

Goods and Services Tax: constitutional amendment to enable concurrent GST powers and a national harmonised tax framework.
The Bill amends the Constitution to confer concurrent power on Parliament and State Legislatures to levy a Goods and Services Tax, creates mechanisms for levy and apportionment of GST on inter State supplies, excludes specified petroleum products and alcohol from GST, and establishes institutional bodies-the Goods and Services Tax Council to make harmonisation recommendations and a Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority to adjudicate revenue and harmonisation disputes, while realigning constitutional entries and providing transitional and presidential powers to address implementation difficulties.

Aviation turbine fuel exclusion from GST upheld; request to include it and to raise passenger duty free allowances denied.
A request to bring aviation turbine fuel within the Goods and Services Tax and to double passenger duty free allowances was not accepted: the proposed GST model did not permit inclusion of aviation turbine fuel, and increasing duty free concessions for arriving passengers was found infeasible.

Service tax expansion: hotel accommodation and licensed air conditioned restaurants taxed with abatements and GST alignment measures.
Levy of service tax is extended to specified hotel accommodation above a stated tariff and to air conditioned restaurants licensed to serve liquor, with abatements of 50% and 70% respectively reducing effective burden. Proposed complementary measures to align the service tax regime with a future GST include expanding service categories, revising import of services valuation, modifying Cenvat Credit to rebalance input and output taxation, rationalizing penal provisions, and adopting Point of Taxation rules to shift toward accrual based collection.