“The impact of GST, India’s biggest indirect tax reform, has been nothing short of transformational. In the past year, there have been problems in implementation as expected, mainly compliances where the shortcomings of the IT systems forced the government to design a new compliance mechanism just as the taxpayers were getting used to the simpler GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 forms.

The new system, to be implemented in a staggered manner from October 2018, envisages auto-generated returns and input credits strictly system dependent and based on vendors being fully compliant. One hopes the new system would run smoothly.

It has been a challenge to keep pace with the rapid evolution of GST and frequent changes introduced. This has been compounded with export refunds being stuck, problems faced in adapting to e-way bills and departmental officers under-prepared to resolve issues at the ground level. Despite this, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. India is now free of multiple and complex indirect taxes and as GST stabilizes going forward, it will undoubtedly encourage investments and remove blockages further boosting the GDP.” Mr. Jigar Doshi, Partner – Indirect Taxes, SKP Business Consulting LLP