Manish Sharma, president, Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association
GST brings positivity to the consumer electronics industry and is a step towards ease of doing business. However, the industry awaits a detailed slab segregation from the council on all consumer durable items and the percentage of tax to be levied on them.
Vivek Katoch, director (corporate affairs), Oriflame India, and vice-chairman, Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA)
Earlier, there was a lot of ambiguity. We had to comply with different laws. Now, uniformity will be there. That is the best part. Uniformity will be a boost for all companies. The tax rates are not known yet. If they are on the higher side, they will hit our top line.
Lalit Malik, chief financial officer, Dabur India Ltd
GST is a transformational tax reform as it will consolidate different taxes into one and will simplify tax administration and will help improve GDP. We have already completed the impact analysis...to ensure a seamless transition.
Rajesh Jain, managing director and chief executive, Sports and Leisure Apparel Ltd, which markets French brand Lacoste in India
Overall, the market should grow. But retail could get adversely affected if the tax rate turns out to be higher... Anything above 12% would kill the retail industry. Mass brands would not be able to take even 12%. Retail is already reeling under pressure due to e-commerce.
Deepak Chhabra, managing director at Crocs India
The GST regime will fuel growth and consumption, make running business simpler and easier. We hope that the footwear industry gets its due and is included in the same rate slab as apparel. Currently, we are subjected to higher slabs of excise/countervailing duty and VAT (value added tax).
Nestle India spokesperson
The understanding is that under GST, products will be put under a tax slab which is nearest to the taxes paid today. While there might be some teething issues with a fiscal change of this magnitude, we believe that this will be quite significant in streamlining the tax system.
