India to roll out GST on July 1

NEW DELHI • India will launch a new national Goods and Services Tax (GST) as planned on July 1, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said yesterday, but will let companies file late returns for the first two months so that they can adapt to a new online filing system.

The GST, the biggest tax reform in India's 70-year history, will require firms to file three online returns each month.

Some business lobby groups have urged a delay to the rollout to allow more time to get ready.

Mr Jaitley, speaking after a meeting of a GST coordination panel, said there would be "a slight relaxation of time" covering July and August before the strict GST filing timetable would apply from September.

REUTERS

Taleban storms police HQ in eastern Afghanistan

KABUL • Taleban attackers stormed a regional police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing at least five officers and injuring 22 people in an assault launched by a suicide bomber.

Of the seven attackers involved, one blew himself up in a car at the entrance to clear the way for the others to rush into the building, the office of the Paktia provincial governor said in a statement announcing the end of the raid.

Special forces killed four of the insurgents but two held out for several hours, it said, adding that nine police officers and 13 civilians were hurt, in addition to the dead.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE