After massive exercise of political consultations and political consensus, the much-anticipated nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) is all set to be rolled out at midnight tonight in the Central Hall of Parliament. The GST is the biggest tax reform since Independence and is believed to change the indirect tax scenario of the nation by subsuming over a dozen central and state taxes. At a function in the Central Hall, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil rollout the GST and will replace a mix of more than a dozen state and central levies built up over seven decades with a one national GST. This move is believed to unifying India’s USD 2 trillion economies and 1.3 billion people into a common market.

The GST launch event will start at 11 PM tonight and will be extended until midnight. The launch will begin after speeches by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It has been reported that a gong will be sounded at midnight to signify that GST has kicked in. The new indirect tax regime embodies the principle of “one nation, one tax, one market”. GST is aimed at eliminating the cascading tax structure, easing compliances and lowering tax burden on consumers despite various tax rates of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the GST Council was a perfect experiment in a federal institution where 31 state governments and the centre together took hundreds of decisions and each one of them by consensus.

 

 

Several Opposition parties like TMC, Congress and CPI (M) see GST as a harmful tax regime and say that its implementation will cause hardships for millions of tiny neighbourhood shops that don’t even use a calculator.  These parties say they are not against the GST but only want small businesses, who face wrenching change, to be given more time.

 

GST was first discussed in the Kelkar Task Force report on indirect taxes in 2003. Later, a proposal to introduce a national GST by April 1, 2010 was first mooted in the Budget Speech for the financial year 2006-07. Businesses are really worried about the indirect tax regime and the impact it would have on their businesses.  First proposed in 2003, the idea of GST was bogged down for years in bipartisan debate, with political parties in government trying to push it and those in opposition dragging it down.

With the implementation of GST, the government has promised that the transition to a single, nationwide tax on goods and services will streamline business and boost the economy by tearing down barriers between 31 states and union territories. It is estimated to add 0.4 per cent to 2 per cent to GDP growth.

 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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