Understanding India's 2017 All-India Tax

The question asks about the name of a significant all-India tax that was implemented by the parliament in 2017. Let's look at the options provided and determine which one fits this description.

Analyzing the Options

• GST (Goods and Services Tax): This is a comprehensive indirect tax levied on the supply of goods and services. It replaced many cascading taxes levied by the central and state governments. GST was indeed passed by the Parliament of India and came into effect on 1st July 2017. This makes it an all-India tax passed in 2017.
• VAT (Value Added Tax): VAT is an indirect tax on consumption, used in many countries and previously in India by states on the sale of goods before GST. While a form of tax, it predates 2017 as the primary comprehensive indirect tax and was mainly state-level.
• Service Tax: Service tax was a tax levied by the central government on services rendered. It was subsumed under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017. So, while a tax, it was replaced by the tax in question.
• Levy: A levy is a broad term that can refer to any tax, fee, or fine imposed by a government or authority. It's not the specific name of the major all-India tax implemented in 2017.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST)

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a unified indirect tax system for the entire country. It was introduced to simplify the taxation system by subsuming various central and state taxes into a single tax. The constitutional amendment bill for GST was passed in 2016, and the necessary legislation was passed in 2017, leading to its implementation from July 1, 2017.

Because GST is an all-India tax that consolidated many previous taxes and was implemented in 2017 after being passed by the parliament, it matches the description given in the question.

Therefore, the name of the all-India tax passed by the parliament in 2017 is GST.