GST one of the biggest tax reforms in post-Independence era, says official

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is one of the biggest tax reforms in post-Independence India, said K Balamurugan, Additional Commissioner, Department of Revenue, Union Ministry of Finance.

Speaking at a session on ‘Goods and Service Act (GST)’ organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with Forum of Free Enterprise and ICSI, Mysuru Chapter in Mysuru on Friday, Balamurugan said, “GST is soon be impleme-nted for a period of 10 years. It is one of biggest tax refo rms of the department since Independence.”

Explaining about the GST, he said, after implementation of GST, the revenue to the government will remain the same. It is a major reform as it will cut both transaction costs and double taxation.

“The proposed GST will not pose any problem to the honest taxpayers, but it will definitely have an impact on irregular taxpayers. The main reason behind the GST is to encourage better tax compliance. “Almost everything will remain the same but we will be changing the nomenclature. The processes are going to be the same,” he added. “Once it is implemented, filing returns will be hassle-free. Everything will happen at a click of button,” he said.

Additional Commissioner for Commercial Taxes, Government of Karnataka, K V Satya Prakash said, “People paying Value Added Tax (VAT) will automatically get migrated to GST. As filing of tax returns under GST will be online, there is a need to create awareness about it among the stakeholders -staff and taxpayers.”

Ravi Prasad, Joint Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Government of Karnataka, CII chairman N Muthukumar, ICSI, Mysuru Chapter, M C Bhansali were also present.