AMN / WEB DESK
The Goods and Service Tax system , GST, significant step in indirect tax reforms will complete four years of its implementation on July 01.
The introduction of the GST reforms came into effect from 1st of July in 2017. It promotes the idea of ‘ONE NATION, ONE TAX, ONE MARKET.’ With the introduction of GST, Ease of Doing Business has significantly improved in the country.
Several key policy initiatives have been taken by the government to make the GST system and compliance mechanism simple, transparent and technology driven in last four years.
GST is a remarkable example of cooperative federalism wherein all the decisions have been taken in the GST Council by consensus. By replacing multi-layered, complex indirect tax structure, GST subsumed more than a score of taxes and paved the way for making India an economic union.
During the last four years, the Central Government in close coordination with the States and Union Territories are continuously engaged in making the GST compliance system simple and transparent. To make the system hassle free, several key measures have been taken to reduce the compliance burden. Quarterly return monthly payment facility has been introduced from January this year to provide relief to the small taxpayers. Under the scheme, taxpayers need to file their return on a quarterly basis.
Earlier, taxpayers had to pay taxes on a monthly basis. The taxpayer who availed this facility now required to file eight returns instead of 24 returns in a year. Around 90 per cent of the taxpayers under GST are eligible to avail benefit under this scheme.
The Government has introduced a facility of Nil filing of GSTR-3B returns by SMS which helped 22 lakh taxpayers. E-Invoicing Facility has also been implemented which reduced time and cost for generation of E-way bills which ensured hassle free movement of goods throughout the country. Over 194 crore e-way bills have been generated so far.
To provide relief to the taxpayers and consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, several medical equipments and medicines have been exempted from IGST. Besides, the amount of late fees has also been reduced to provide relief to the taxpayers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that GST has been a milestone in the economic landscape of India. Mr Modi said, it has decreased the number of taxes, compliance burden and overall tax burden on common man while significantly increasing transparency, compliance and overall collection. It has been four years since the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, country’s biggest tax reform, on July 1, 2017.