Streamlining the taxation process and acting tough against the tax evasion has been among the cornerstones of the Narendra Modi lead Government in past 9 years. GST has been a focal achievement of esteemed Prime Minister Narendra Modi lead Government.
Many people believe that the govt has succeeded in reforming the financial system and improving the economy. Implementation of the GST was a major milestone, which made doing business much easier by removing several different taxes and included them in Goods and Services Tax. It also eliminated barriers to inter-state trade by removing taxes. Similarly, the PLI and other schemes have been listed as successes by the people in enhancing investment in the country. Several people have included financial stability, increasing GDP as major successes of the government.
Expert pulse is after the implementation of the GST, India turned into one market with uniform tax on supplies of goods and services. In last six years, the GST ensured compliance simplification with uniform processes across the country. First proposed by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government in 2000, the GST has eliminated human interface from the indirect taxation system, enhanced transparency and fulfilled the dream of One Nation, One Tax.
The pulse of nation is happy that GST is a historic tax reform introduced on the 1st of July 2017. Before 1 July 2017, Indian indirect tax regime was highly fragmented. Centre and States were separately taxing goods and services. There were many taxes like excise duty, service tax, VAT, CST, purchase tax, entertainment tax etc. GST subsumed 17 large taxes and 13 cesses. With uniform tax on supplies of goods and services, India turned into one market. GST has not only reduced the tax burden on corporates, but also enhanced transparency and reduced corruption. The simplified taxation system has encouraged corporates to expand their operations, invest in new ventures, and fuel economic growth.
“The PM Modi-led government aims to end tax terrorism and increase efficiency,” says a document. For FY 2022–23, the GST collections have surpassed Rs 18 lakh crore, with a YOY growth of 22 per cent. This is the highest ever revenue collected for indirect taxes, showing confidence of taxpayers.
In 2019, PM Narendra Modi, in an interview, underlined that all decisions related to GST, a single tax regime which was rolled out two years back, have been taken through consensus in the GST Council, which has representation from state governments, including Congress ones.
The PM noted how the GST had simplified the tax regime. He said, “GST has simplified all this. 500 items have zero tax, which at one time incurred high taxes. Last few days, tax rates on 1200-1250 items of daily use have been brought down, some to 18%, to 12 to 5 % and in some cases to zero.” He said that the government has been trying to make GST easy and benefits of consumers are secured. The need felt to reform and make taxation efficient in India has been to a larger extent solved by Modi Government.
(The Author is Spokesperson, Incharge Policy Research Department and Prabhari Social Media Department @BJP4JnK)
