Jammu and Kashmir Govt passes bill to update State’s GST Law with Centre

The Omar Abdullah government introduced its first bill in the Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir. The bill focuses on updating the Union Territory’s Goods and Services Tax to match Central Law.

The bill aims to update Jammu and Kashmir’s GST law to match the recent changes made in the Central GST law. These changes are mainly focused on regulating taxes and will not lead to any additional or ongoing expenses.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill-2025 in the Assembly. The purpose of the bill is to update Jammu and Kashmir’s GST law to match the recent changes made in the Central GST law.

On August 5, 2019, Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution were removed, and Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two Union Territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

In 2018, Central rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir, giving Parliament control over the state’s legislative powers. After six years, Assembly elections were finally held last year.

The newly formed Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, in its first session, passed a resolution calling for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory.

In the last elections, the National Conference (NC) won 42 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 29. The Congress won 6 seats, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 3, and the Peoples Conference, CPI-M, Awami Ittehad Party, and Aam Aadmi Party 1 seat each. Six seats were also won by Independent candidates, taking the total to 90 seats in the Assembly.