GST Made 2017 Most Important For Indian Economy

The 70th year since Independence will go down in the history of India since the country switched over to the GST Regime, realising, thereby, the vision of a unified market in a federal system that guided the nationalist bourgeoisie in joining Mahatma Gandhi's struggle to liberate India from the British. Of course, the structural reform came accompanied with pain for trade and industry caught off-guard by the rigours of new compliance procedures. Queried by corporate leaders at industry chamber Ficci's 90th AGM earlier this month on how GST was impacting through lower tax collections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley put the onus on them.

GST Implementation 2017

Central taxes replaced by GST are service tax, special additional customs duties (SAD), additional excise duties on goods of special importance, central excise, additional customs duties, excise on medicinal and toilet preparations, additional excise duties on textiles and textile products, and cesses and .

With the Council's decisions last month, GST has been cut on a host of consumer items such as chocolates, chewing gum, shampoos, deodorants, shoe polish, detergents, nutrition drinks, marble and cosmetics. Luxury goods such as washing machines and air conditioners have been retained at 28 per cent.

Eating out has become cheaper as all restaurants outside high-end hotels charging over Rs.7500 per room will uniformly levy GST of five per cent. The facility of input tax credit for restaurants has, however, been withdrawn as they had not passed on this benefit to consumers.

Verdict of GST in 2017

In the final analysis, the GST balance sheet is provided by Gita Gopinath, Professor of International Studies and Economies at Harvard University, who is also the economic adviser to the Kerala Chief Minister.

"GST is a real reform. It is a way of formalising the economy. It is a very effective way of ensuring tax compliance, making it harder to earn black money. I mean, nothing ever goes away completely, but it just makes it harder to make it happen," Gopinath said in Mumbai earlier this month.

GST on helmets has been demanded from 18 percent to 5 percent, on textiles to nil from 5 percent, on tractors to 5 percent from 12 percent and on granite slabs to 18 percent from 28 percent currently.

Namkeen, bhujias and potato chips should attract 5 percent tax and not 12 percent as per a demand put before the Council.

GST on sanitary pads has been sought to be nil from 12 percent.

Sources said GST Council refers some of the tax change requests to the fitment committee to see if there is any merit in the demands and upon recommendation of the committee takes up for approval any changes.

GST on dried fish has been sought to be cut to nil from 5 percent, on plastic scrap to nil from 18 percent, on fishing nets to 5 percent from 12 percent, on furniture to 12-18 percent from current 28 percent.

The requests also include cutting 12 percent tax on agriculture implements to nil or maximum 5 percent, on raw granite to 5 percent from 12 percent and on granite finished to 12 percent from 28 percent.

A nil duty has been sought for fly-ash and fly-ash bricks from current 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively to popular the use of the otherwise environmental pollutant.

To help cut reliance on imported oil, duty on bio-diesel or bio fuel extracted from non-edible oilseeds has been sought to be cut to nil or 5 percent from current 18 percent.

With the Council's decisions last month, GST has been cut on a host of consumer items such as chocolates, chewing gum, shampoos, deodorants, shoe polish, detergents, nutrition drinks, marble and cosmetics. Luxury goods such as washing machines and air conditioners have been retained at 28 per cent.

Eating out has become cheaper as all restaurants outside high-end hotels charging over Rs.7500 per room will uniformly levy GST of five per cent. The facility of input tax credit for restaurants has, however, been withdrawn as they had not passed on this benefit to consumers.