States asked to pass GST bills by May-end

The goods and services tax (GST) council chaired by finance minister Arun Jaitley has urged states to approve state GST laws by the end of May to smoothen the roll-out of the historic tax reform by its target date of 1 July. President Pranab Mukherjee signed off on the four supporting GST bills on Thursday. According to a person aware of the discussions between the central and state governments, c…