Ek baar aap GST dekh lo! -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gentle nudge to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in December last year sparked the beginning of a mammoth exercise to overhaul the tangled goods and services tax regime.
And the final outcome is a significantly simplified system with lower tax rates and easier compliance for businesses.
Sitharaman, who, along with her team, began work to identify anomalies in the present four-tier structure and compliance issues faced by businesses, was once again reminded by the Prime Minister when she was preparing the Budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
"Aap GST ke upar kar rahi ho na kaam?" Modi had inquired.
Her discussion with the Prime Minister led Sitharaman to begin work on reviewing everything in GST -- not just rates and tax slabs but how to make the regime more friendly for businesses, particularly small and medium businesses.
In an interview with PTI, Sitharaman recalled the parallel works that happened - from overhauling the indirect tax regime to ensuring the backend software is ready to implement the massive change in the offing.
"Even before the last GST council meeting, which happened in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan (in December 2024), the Prime Minister had called me and said, 'ek baar aap GST dekh lo. Business ke liye subvidhajanak banao and rates par itne sare confusion kyun hai' (please look at the GST regime once. Why is there so much confusion on rates? Make it easier for businesses)," he said.
Soon after, during the discussion on income tax relief measures outlined in the Budget, Modi again reminded her: "Aap GST ke upar kar rahi ho na kaam (You are working on GST, right?)".
What came handy was the work of a group of ministers on different GST issues during the last one and half years.
"What I decided after hearing from Prime Minister, was (that) it's time for us, now that eight years are over, to have a thorough review of everything in GST, not just the rates, not just the number of slabs, but also looking at it from the point of view of how will a business, small or medium business approach this," she said. -- PTI
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances
