GST in India: A Big Leap in the Indirect Taxation System

The replacement of the Central excise duty of the government of India by Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT) and sales tax system of the State governments by the VAT marked a major mile stone in the reform process of indirect taxes in India. It addressed the cascading effect under the erstwhile system by giving set-off for tax paid on inputs as well as tax paid on previous purchases and resulted in a major simplification of the rate structure and broadening of the tax base. But both the CENVAT and the State VAT have certain incompleteness. Though a number of initiatives by the various machineries at the Centre, the present taxation regime is marked as cumbersome, complicated and unfriendly. It is in this perspective, the Central government has entrusted Dr.Vijay Kelkar, Chairman of 13th Finance Commission to suggest a rational, scientific and modern but unified system of taxation in tune with developed nations form the base behind the introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST) in India. Although there are many hurdles to be crossed before the implementation of GST the Central government reiterated its commitment towards the adoption of a ‘flawless’ GST for the survival of the India’s economy in the face of increasing international competition consequent to globalization and liberalisation. Despite the various impediments to the proposed transition, until the time GST is implemented, it would be worthwhile to assess its positive impacts on the various development areas viz. agriculture, manufacturing industry, MSME, housing, poverty reduction, employment, price level, EXIM trade, GDP, government revenue, etc. and this aspect is the subject matter of this paper.