siliconindia | | December 20189Has GST simplified the tax system?GST has gone a long way in simplifying the tax structure by being a simple tax across geographies, while also pro-viding input tax credit on all input supplies. The move-ment of goods across states has now improved with the introduction of the e-way bill. This has made the entire country into one level playing field. Hence, it has reduced transaction cost and simplified the taxation procedure.Has GST increased the compliance burden?The compliance burden under the GST regime has in-creased manifold with the number of returns going-up from the half-yearly service tax returns to monthly returns and that too multiple. The matching concept of availing input credit only, if the supplier of the service or product has paid the tax and filed the returns on time is too taxing on the assesse.Does it have any positives?GST has brought along with it positives, namely,· Removal of multiple indirect taxes such as VAT, CST, Service tax, CAD, SAD, and Excise by introduction of one tax for the entire nation. · Removal of cascading effect of taxes, i.e., removes tax on tax by allowing an end-to-end input tax credit. · Reduction of manufacturing costs due to lower burden of taxes on the manufacturing sector. Hence, prices of consumer goods have come down.· Lower the price burden on the common man, i.e., cit-izens at large will have to shed less money to buy the same products.· Increased demand and consumption of goods due to lower prices.· Increased demand will lead to increase supply. Hence, this will ultimately lead to rise in the production of goods and growth of the gross domestic product. · Control of black money circulation, as the system nor-mally followed by traders and shopkeepers will be put to a mandatory check.· Seamless movement of goods across the nation with the introduction of the e-way bill, thereby reducing the time spent by vehicles at multiple entry/exit points. Are there any negatives of GST?· Delayed IGST refund has hit Exporters and caused a slowdown.· Sentiments around claiming of Input Tax Credit: Ad-mission of ITC is currently being allowed on a provi-sional basis and that too under a matching concept to the recipient of the credit.· Increased cost of compliance for small businesses.A Brighter EconomyWe can conclusively say that the introduction of Goods and Services Tax has been a very noteworthy step in the field of indirect tax reforms in India. By merging a large number of Central & State taxes into a single tax, GST has significantly eased double taxation and made taxation overall easy for the industries. For the end customer, the most beneficial is the reduction in the overall tax burden on goods and services. Introduction of GST has also made Indian products competitive in the domestic & interna-tional markets. Last but not the least, the GST, because of its transparent character, has been easier to adminis-ter. Now that the GST system has been implemented, it holds great promise in terms of sustaining growth for the Indian economy. The GST has been easier to administer. Now that the GST system has been implemented it holds great promise in terms of sustaining growth for the Indian economy
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