The centre's proposal to introduce Constitution Amendment Bill in the current Parliament session to pave the way for rolling out the Goods and Service Tax (GST) today hit a road block, with the BJP-ruled states demanding more time to respond to the draft.

"The states have got hardly two working days to examine the revised draft and take a decision thereon...," Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Raghawji said at the states GST panel meeting here.

"I have been wondering the reason for the rush to implement the GST as if the country is passing through a severe financial crisis and GST is the panacea for all the ills," Raghawji added.

The haste with which the draft bill is being examined, he said, "is a precursor of the things to come, once the process for amending the constitution is over".

Other state finance ministers too said that the BJP-ruled states sought more time to firm up their views on the darft bill.

"BJP-ruled states do not want the Constitution Amendment Bill to be passed now at this juncture. They want more time," Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac said.

When asked how many BJP-ruled states wanted more time, he said: "All the (BJP-ruled) states."

The government plans to introduce the Bill in the current, Monsoon, session of Parliament to prepare the ground for rolling out the GST from April 1, 2011.

Under the proposed plan, all central and state taxes like excise, VAT and service tax will be subsumed into GST, once the new indirect tax regime takes effect. The revenue from GST will be shared equally between the Centre and states.

The Empowered Committee of States Finance Ministers on GST is holding a meeting on redraft of the Constitution Amendment Bill, after the first draft by the centre was rejected by states on the charge that it would provide veto power to the Union Finance Minister over states' taxation issues.

The revised draft proposes to allay this apprehension, suggesting that any decision on the GST could be taken only if there is complete consensus on the issue from all sides.

With the BJP-ruled states not coming on board, the centre's plan to table the bill in the ongoing monsoon session of parliament may hit a hurdle. State finance ministers are expected to meet Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee later today.