DTC bill to be introduced in Budget session: Finance Minister

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the government wants to introduce the Direct Tax Code (DTC) bill in the Budget session of Parliament.

He also said that Goods and Service Tax ( GST) would become a reality within 2013, if all state governments come on board.

"We are working on it (DTC) and we want to introduce it in Parliament at least on the last day of the ongoing Budget session.

"Recommendations of the Standing Committee that examined the Direct Tax Code (DTC) bill are under active consideration and the official amendments will be finalised soon," Chidambaram told Tamil television channel 'Puthiya Thalaimurai' in an interview.

Once in place, DTC would replace the Income Tax Act of 1961.

On GST, Chidambaram said everybody agrees in-principle that it is a welcome move since the proposed GST would replace excise, service tax and VAT.

"If everybody comes on board, we can have GST before the end of this calendar year (2013)," he said.

The Finance Minister hoped that inflation would be moderated as the 2013-14 Budget has unveiled steps to control fiscal deficit.

Supply-side constraints on the food items are being addressed by providing various measures to boost agriculture, he said.