New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on the issue of validity of separate entry taxes on movement of goods, as per the laws of various state governments.

Entry tax is imposed by state governments on movement of goods from one state to another. It is levied by the state that receives goods.

A nine-judge constitution bench comprising of chief justice T.S. Thakur, justices A.K. Sikri, S.A. Bobde, Shiva Kirti Singh, N.V. Ramana, R. Banumathi, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan had been hearing the matter over the past two months on a regular basis.

The earliest plea against entry tax was moved by Jindal Stainless Steel Ltd in 2002, challenging the entry tax law imposed by Haryana. Scores of petitions have followed thereafter.

In 2003, the plea was referred to a larger constitution bench and in 2008 the apex court formulated questions to be considered by the Constitution bench.

In 2010, the then chief justice S.H. Kapadia referred the case to a nine-judge bench.

However, with President, Pranab Mukherjee assenting to the constitution amendment bill that enables the implementation of this indirect tax reform on 8 September, the issue surrounding entry tax would be a thing of the past.

GST, a destination-based tax, is one of the most ambitious tax reforms undertaken in independent India. It aims to remove inter-state barriers to trade and integrate the country into a common market by subsuming a host of local levies.

GST would create a national market for goods and services in India, replacing various state taxes.

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