Calcutta, Dec. 11: A working group set up by the empowered committee of state finance ministers on a uniform goods and services tax (GST) is preparing a draft proposal for central GST, state GST and integrated GST for all states.

Bengal finance minister Asim Dasgupta, who is the chairman of the empowered committee, said this today at a Ficci meet.

The proposed GST, to replace a host of central and state taxes on goods and services, will have two components — a central GST and a state GST. “There will also be an integrated GST for inter-state transfer of goods and services,” Dasgupta said.

However, he added that the integrated GST would not be a new tax. “It will be a pooled account of central GST and state GST together and it will be monitored by a central agency,” he said.

There will be two rates — a standard rate for general goods and services and a lower rate for essential and merit goods. It is learnt that the state finance ministers have almost agreed to a 5 per cent tax for essential and merit goods and 11-12 per cent for general goods.

All producers of goods and service providers won’t have to pay GST. There are threshold limits for both the state GST and central GST.