GST Day HIGHLIGHTS: Celebration of one year of GST at Ambedkar International Bhawan. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)
The government is celebrating July 1 as ‘GST Day’ to mark the completion of a year of the indirect tax regime. The finance ministry said the introduction of GST transformed India into ‘one nation, one Tax’, binding the country into an economic union. “The first year of GST has been an example to the world of the readiness of the Indian taxpayer to be a partner in this unprecedented reform of Indian taxation,” it said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the completion of one year of GST on Twitter, saying that it has brought a positive change in the country’s economy and is an example of cooperative federalism in India.
I congratulate the people of India on the special occasion of GST completing 1 year.
A vibrant example of cooperative federalism and a ‘Team India’ spirit, GST has brought a positive change in the Indian economy. #GSTForNewIndia https://t.co/PvZKtl2YIE
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 1, 2018
To mark GST’s anniversary, the finance ministry is holding an event which will be presided by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Finance Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out in the intervening night of June 30 and July 1, last year. (Representational Image)
Union Minister Arun Jaitley today dismissed the idea of a single GST slab being advocated by Congress President Rahul Gandhi as “flawed”, saying that it can only work in a country where the entire population has a similar and high capacity to spend.
“Rahul Gandhi has been advocating a single slab GST for India. It is a flawed idea. A single slab GST can function only in those countries where the entire population has a similar and a higher level of paying capacity. Being fascinated by the Singapore model is understandable but the population profile of a state like Singapore and India is very different. Singapore can charge 7 per cent GST on food and 7 per cent on luxury goods. Will that model work for India?,” the Minister questioned. (PTI)
Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday called GST a “monumental economic reform.” On the first anniversary of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Jaitley said the unified tax system has helped in boosting direct tax collections in the April-June quarter of this fiscal.
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PM Modi said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has within one year of its launch led to over 70 per cent jump in indirect taxpayer base, demolished check-posts and merged 17 taxes and 23 cesses into one single tax.
"The new tax regime, has subsumed central levies like excise duty and service tax and state taxes like VAT, it is aimed at making indirect taxation 'simple' while Inspector Raj has been eliminated," he said, adding the GST is an evolving system which is calibrated based on feedback from state governments, trades and other stakeholders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today ruled out a single tax rate under the GST, saying Mercedes car and milk cannot be taxed at the same rate and accepting Congress party's demand for a uniform 18 per cent rate would lead to a spike in food and essential items' taxation.Modi said, "It would have been very simple to have just one slab but it would have meant we could not have food items at zero per cent tax rate. Can we have milk and Mercedes at the same rate?""So, when our friends in Congress say that they will have just one GST rate, they are effectively saying they will tax food items and commodities, which are currently at zero or 5 per cent, at 18 per cent," he said in an interview to 'Swarajya' magazine.
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"The UPA kept petroleum products permanently outside GST. On the contrary, we brought them back into the Constitution as levyable to GST and can gradually impose the GST when the GST Council so decides. For this I would continue to make my earnest efforts with the States," said Jaitley
Responding to P Chidambaram's claims that the implementation of GST was flawed, Piyush Goyal said, "There was no disruption and economic growth was not affected due to the implementation of GST. I would like to tell P Chidambaram that angoor khatte hain"
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Piyush Goyal at the event to mark one year of GST. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)
Union Minister Arun Jaitley addressed the media on the anniversary of GST today.
(Express photo by Renuka Puri)
"The implementation of the Goods and Services Tax as a single consolidated tax has had a significant impact even on direct taxes. Those who have disclosed a business turnover for the GST now find it difficult not to disclose their net income for the purposes of income tax," Arun Jaitley wrote in a post on Facebook.
"Multiple rates going upto 40 per cent, and arbitrary cesses on top of the rates, have completely distorted the idea of GST...truth is that GST was thrust upon an unprepared nation....GST has not yet had a positive impact on economic growth," says former finance minister P Chidambaram
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Beginning with the GST Constitution Amendment Bill, steps taken by BJP govt were deeply flawed. GST Bills ignored the advice of the CEA on many aspects, notably on rates. Net result is what we have today is a very different animal and not a true GST
Taking on the government for failing to make GST beneficial for the common man, P Chidambaram said, "The only section that appears to be happy about the GST is the tax administration that has acquired extraordinary powers that frighten the average business person and the common citizen."
Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram took on the government for 'flawed' implementation of GST and has become and infamous term amongst many
GST Day celebrations commence at Ambedkar Bhawan in New Delhi. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Piyush Goyal at Ambedkar international bhawan (Express photo by Renuka Puri)
Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian who was closely involved in drafting the GST Act said that in an ideal system of the tax structure, the 28 per cent tax slab needs to be removed. "Today, we have GST rates of 0, 3 per cent (for gold), 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. We need to rationalise but I think at the first instance the 28 per cent should go. I am saying that in an ideal system the 28 per cent rate has to go. The cesses may have to be there because we are going to have higher rates for some products, but there shouldn’t be multiple rates even here. In my report, we had called for one 18 per cent rate and then 40 per cent rate. Cesses are a different way of implementing the 40 per cent rate," he said to The Indian Express.
The 28 per cent tax is levied on luxury goods. While it earlier included 228 items, the government in November last year trimmed it down to 50 products. Read more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former president Pranab Mukherjee, Arun Jaitley and other leaders launched GST on the midnight of June 30 at a function inside the Parliament’s Central Hall. “GST is a transparent and fair system that prevents black money and corruption and promotes new governance culture,” PM Modi said in his speech, adding that while the new policy may cause minor problems, people will adjust soon. PM Modi called GST as ‘Good and Simple Tax.’
Calling the tax structure unfair to small traders and business, the Congress, TMC and Left parties boycotted the launch. Former Prime Minister Singh was also sent an invitation but he declined. Opposition parties including the JD(U), the NCP, the BJD, the Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal (S) participated in the launch.
The gems and jewellery industry is expecting the government to resolve few issues, including 3 per cent GST on gold import for export purpose, to give a boost to the industry as the new tax regime completes one year of rollout, PTI reported. Things are now better for the diamond sector with the 0.25 per cent GST. The only issue is with the import of gold for export purpose, he said.
"The process is a bit cumbersome where the banks are charging us 3 per cent GST, for which we are getting reimbursement through input credit. But to make things easier, we are want it to be GST free. So far the government has been supportive and have resolved all our issues and we have been assured that this issue will also be considered," Shah said.
On July 1, 2017, India ushered in the Goods and Service Tax (GST), the country’s biggest indirect tax reform since the economy opened up 25 years ago. The policy aims to streamline the taxation structure in the country by doing away with various taxes imposed by states and Centre and introducing a unified tax system. A year on, here is a look at the journey so far. Read More
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that a telephone helpline number will be started soon, where consumers can report against those traders who evade tax by not issuing purchase bill.
Bringing petrol and diesel under the goods and services tax (GST) regime will only have a minor impact on their prices as states will levy additional taxes to prop up revenues, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil KumarModi said. He also said that pruning of list of items under the highest tax slab of 28 per cent first requires stabilisation of revenue over Rs 1 lakh crore a month as the items have a high revenue implication. Read More
Listing its priorities for next six months, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) Friday said it will focus on development of new return filing system, improving the user interface and business intelligence and analytics. GSTN CEO Prakash Kumar said they are already doing simple analytics by matching GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 returns, based on which tax officials are sending notices to taxpayers under GST. Read More
In the wake of rising fuel prices, experts have called for bringing petrol and diesel under GST. But the question stays whether this can help provide relief to customers. In December last year, former finance minister Arun Jaitley had told the Rajya Sabha that the Central government was in favour of bringing petroleum products under the ambit of GST after building a consensus with states. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has also backed the call to bring the two fuels under GST.
The real estate sector finds itself in a peculiar position where they are getting input credits for some portions of the goods and services, but for the major component, there is no input credit. Thus, for land and government taxes, like development taxes etc, which form the major component of our expenditure, there is no input credit and we are not able to pass on the benefit to the end customer.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the introduction of the GST, The Indian Express speaks to Shrikant Paranjape, president, CREDAI Pune Metro, to understand the journey so far. Read More
A year since the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Maharashtra has recorded a significant growth in collections, according to data available with the state GST department. Continuing the growth streak the state recorded in 2017-18, revenue collections for the first quarter of 2018-19 have already increased by 39.5 per cent as compared to last year.
This year, in the first quarter (between April and June), the state has already collected Rs 35,915 crore — a 39.5 per cent jump from last year. The state accounts for almost 15 per cent of the total collections in the country, said sources. “In terms of collections, Maharashtra is slightly better than the other states,” said a senior official from the GST department.
In the financial year 2017-18, the state collected taxes worth Rs 1,15,940 crore, a 28.08 per cent rise over the previous year. Only one quarter of this period was under the Value Added Tax (VAT) regime with GST kicking in thereafter. While in the pre-GST regime, collections grew by 18.08 per cent, it was around 30 per cent higher under the GST regime. Read more
Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday appealed to the consumers to participate in the government's efforts to curb tax evasion. He asked them to insist on bill for every purchase saying it would help the government check evasion and reduce tax rate on each item by as much as 4-5 per cent.
After a 17-year-old roller coaster journey for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the tax reform was finally launched at a joint midnight Parliament session on June 30, 2017. The new tax regime, which came into effect from July 1, was being touted as the biggest taxation reform since Independence, and aimed to bring the country’s laborious taxation system under a single umbrella, merging India’s $2 trillion economy with its population of 1.3 billion. Read More