“Distortions in indirect tax system will be fully removed and addressed after the GST is put in place... burden on tax payers will be reduced by at least between 25-30 per cent and the new system will ensure complete transparency to ensure smooth tax compliance,”  Revenue Secretary P V Bhide said.

Speaking at a function of industry body Assocham, he also said the draft legislation on GST has been referred to legal experts and would be finalised shortly to enable the government achieve target of implementation of goods and service tax.

Progress made
On his part,  Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said considerable progress has been made towards implementing the Goods and Services Tax, a new indirect tax structure that would subsume levies like excise, VAT and service tax.