Zee News cited Mr Vijay Kelkar commission chairman as saying that activities like housing, construction and railways should be included in the proposed goods and services tax to increase the tax base and enhance collections.

Mr Kelkar commission chairman while speaking at a seminar on GST organized by ASSICHAM that "I would urge that the construction and housing sectors be included in the GST tax base, either immediately or during a subsequent phase."

He said construction sector is a significant contributor to the national economy and housing expenditure dominates the personal consumption expenditure so the 2 sectors would increase the tax base.

He said "Another possible step to expand the GST tax base will be the inclusion of the rail sector."

The inclusion of the rail sector in the tax regime which will do away with most of the indirect taxes should be done if the government want to provide a level playing field to road and air transportation sector.

He further added that the inclusion will also ensure that all inter-state transportation of goods can be tracked through the proposed IT network and in fact the railways itself would benefit from the inclusion.

(Sourced from zeenews.com)