The Way Forward The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced in India on July 1, 2017, after several rounds of stalemate in Parliament. Observers described the reform as the most significant change to India's tax regime since the country became independent in 1947. A late-night parliamentary session adapted to this historic moment. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the main driving force behind the GST, this landmark reform reflects the collective will of 135 million people represented in the sovereign parliament and state legislatures. The launch, however, was boycotted by many. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayGST was established to include various indirect taxes levied at different levels, with the idea of ​​reducing the reproductive tape, plugging leakages and paving the way for a transparent indirect tax regime. What is GST? GST is intended as a unified indirect tax across the country on products and services. In the present system, tax is levied at each stage separately by the Union government and the States, at varying rates, on the entire value of goods. But under the GST system, tax will be collected only on the value added at each stage. This is a single tax (collected at multiple points) with full compensation for taxes paid earlier in the value chain. Therefore, the end consumer will only bear the GST charged by the last retailer in the supply chain with offsetting benefits at all previous stages. GST is classified into two types State GST and Central GST. What is State GST and Central GST? For transactions within a State, there will be two components of GST - Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST) - levied on the value of goods and services. Both the Center and the states will simultaneously impose GST across the value chain. The impact of GST on the process of supply of goods and services will largely depend on the element in question. It will also depend on the respective state government and its intervention towards price control of essential commodities. Milk, for example, which is likely to see a surge in prices after the introduction of GST, can still be sold at cheaper prices if the state government offers a subsidy. As for those living below the poverty line, there may not be a direct impact of the GST on them as such as basic necessities like food are unlikely to attract the GST, but the increase in collection of the GST with a broader tax base should give impetus to the government to allocate more money for social and poverty reduction programmes. How will GST help eliminate tax evasion? A comprehensive IT system, GSTN, will provide many universal GST numbers to all manufacturers and traders, wholesalers, wholesalers and retailers. This will simplify the management of indirect taxes and stop losses. The government also plans to incentivize tax compliance by traders. It provides the country with a uniform tax and no frequent changes in rates. Less tax pressure, a market to help businesses and no truck queues at state borders. GDP could increase by 2%. Less opportunity for evasion, which means more revenue. Lower taxes to boost exports. What does this mean for businesses? There will be no fear of a state randomly increasing taxes and there will be transparency in taxes. Suppliers of goods and services will get the benefit of input tax credit for goods actually used, making the impact realof taxation lower than the main tax rate. The government has classified the items into five main categories: 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Here is the updated list of Goods and Services Taxes under various GST Schedules. Generally, services are expected to be more expensive under the GST regime, as the expected GST rate is higher than the current services tax rate of 15%, clearly, the GST is expected to lower the prices of locally produced goods to due to current effective indirect taxes being higher than the recommended lower GST rates of 5% and the standard GST rate of 12% and 18%. Therefore, the price of some categories of goods may decrease depending on the effective rate of indirect taxes currently paid and the tax brackets under which the goods are classified under GST. All restaurants, hotel restaurants with room rate less than 7,500 rupees, Food parcels, textile work, rail transport services, air transport, e-waste supply. 12% on clothing above Rs 1000, frozen meat products, butter, cheese, ghee, packaged dry fruits, animal fats, sausages, fruit juices, medicines, toothpaste, matches, coloring books, picture books etc. The government has opted for four slabs for both goods and services: 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Additionally, several items are zero levied, while bullion will attract 3% GST and luxury and sinful goods that are in the highest bracket will also attract a tax which will be used to compensate states for the loss of revenue. The GST will ensure that indirect tax rates and structures are common across the country, thereby increasing certainty and ease of doing business. In other words, the GST would make doing business in the country tax neutral, regardless of where you choose to do business. A system of seamless tax credits throughout the value chain and across state borders would ensure a minimum tax cascade. This would reduce the hidden costs of doing business. Advantages of GST: GST will mainly eliminate the trickle-down effect on the sale of goods and services. Removing the cascading effect will have a direct impact on the cost of goods. The cost of goods is expected to decrease as the duty on taxes is eliminated in the GST regime. GST is also primarily driven by technology. All activities such as registration, filing of return, claiming refund and replying to notice need to be done online on the GST portal. This will speed up the processes. What changes has GST brought about? : GST will improve tax collection and boost the development of the Indian economy by removing indirect tax barriers between states and integrating the country through a uniform tax rate. The Center must take forward the pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation. As of late, the lack of reforms in the indirect tax regime leads to high costs and inefficiencies in myriad ways. For example, blocking input taxes or distorting tax rates and cascading rates could account for up to three-quarters of investment in plant and machinery. The Center must take forward the pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation. As recent think tank Arvind Subramanian points out, the lack of reforms in the indirect tax regime leads to high costs and inefficiencies in myriad ways. For example, blocking input taxes or distorting tax rates and cascading rates could account for up to three-quarters of investment in plant and machinery. Hence the urgent