The Chief Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Service Tax, Hyderabad, Sandeep M. Bhatnagar sought to allay the fears surrounding the Goods and Services Tax, soon to be introduced across the country, and said the new GST regime will answer many complexities in the existing system and pave way for increase in exports.
He spoke after inaugurating the two-day seminar on ‘GST: A way forward’ organised by ICFAI Centre for Tax Policy, and said GST by its nature is regressive, because it is an indirect tax and levies the consumption by rich and poor alike. However, indirect taxes contribute to the nation building, and for the first time ever since Independence, the concept of ‘One Nation-One Tax’ has been introduced.
The earlier system allowed States to fix the taxes as per their needs, and it resulted in competition among the States to attract investments. However, competitive environment is very low in industries, and the tax sops could not be utilised. Inefficiencies in the system have adversely affected the exports, and GST is needed to boost the exports.
Response from the industry and other sections to the draft GST Law is phenomenal, Mr. Bhatnagar said.
GST will bring about administrative reforms too, as the officials will need to focus on mofussil areas too apart from the cities. It will be business as usual for the entrepreneurs, except for the mention on the invoice, he assured.
Government machinery is well prepared to welcome the new regime, and ‘GST Seva Kendras’ will be opened at the commissionerates.
Former Chief Justice of the High Court of Patna, L. Narasimha Reddy delivered the keynote address, in which he termed GST as revolutionisation of indirect taxation in India.
GST has been brought in to address the huge variations in taxation by various States. There is no need to worry, as the government may change it based on public response, he averred. Citizens, however, should be ready to make their contribution to nation building, he said, and called for a positive approach.