3 Years of GST: A Moment to Celebrate or Denounce?

On the 1^st of July 2017, the Goods and Services Tax, popular as “GST” was announced in the contrasts of Parliamentary fervor and the confused citizen populace. An idea that took many financial years to architect became a realization that day and on the first of July 2020, we have completed three years of the tax reform.   

Incepted with an aim to centralize and unify the multitude of indirect taxes into a singular taxation regime, the introduction sure bought with it a plethora of statutory compliance, exaggerated formalities and strict deadlines for conformation.  

Irrespective of the earlier challenges and misses, the fiscal reform has lived up to its expectations and through the centralization of taxes, has resulted in a clutter free and smart compliance for all taxpayers.      

“One Nation - One Tax”    

Aimed to facilitate the ease of doing business, GST has proven to be a game changer for the Indian economy. The resulting common/unified market as enabled by the revolutionary law has paved a way for a much transparent and technology-friendly tax regime.   

The growth of revenue collection through taxation has enhanced significantly with the implementation of GST as compared to the pre-GST era but still the system requires a fine-tuning so as to consistently be able to attract the target numbers for the same.   

For this system to result in flourishing revenues for the states as studied by the chartered accountant, the remaining hiccups need to be alleviated and an anomaly-free system needs to be strives for.

Let us discuss the considerable Pros and Cons of this unified tax reform brought about by GST -  

The current issues with the GST -  

• Wide scale compliance and filing remains interrupted due to technology lags   

• Restructuring the tax rates to optimize GST is challenging and overwhelming     

• The current Covid-19 pandemic has hampered GST revamps across the nation  

• Revenue collection growth targets for states still fail to be consistently achieved    

• The compliance process involving 13 return filing forms is cumbersome  

Here are the undeniable benefits that the GST reform has bestowed upon Indian taxpayers -   

• The system facilitates growth by allowing production to optimum capacity 

• An unmatched level of transparency and credibility for the taxation system   

 

• Elimination of indirect taxes like VAT, CST, Service tax, CAD, SAD, and Excise 

• An enhanced demand and consumption fostered by price reduction for products    

• A sustainable system flexible for timely refinement to optimize revenue generation 

• A mandatory check on the illegal acts committed during the tradition taxation regime   

The game changing reforms from GST have enabled smart and irreversible growth to the Indian economy. While there are many causes to celebrate, we must also acknowledge and convey the reforms needed for the system so as to furnish better growth and a strong economy for the nation.

These reforms needed to ensure that GST will emerge as the promised savior of economy have been stated below -  

• Introduction of a simpler tax structure with fewer rates  

 

• Simplification of compliance process with streamlined filing system   

If you wish to gain an in-depth understanding of the GST system and avail trusted support in registration, return fining and business compliance for the same, get in touch with Aggarwal Varun & Co, the best firm of chartered accountant in India.