7 Years Of GST: Growing Confidence And Future Challenges

The 53rd GST Council meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the weekend, introduced a series of recommendations aimed at simplifying GST compliance and easing the burden on taxpayers. This was the first GST Council meeting following the formation of the new NDA government. Key decisions included the exemption of services provided by Indian Railways, such as platform tickets, from GST. The Council also recommended a uniform GST rate of 12% on all milk cans and suggested waiving interest on penalties related to tax demand notices. Additionally, the Council proposed appeal limits for Tax Authorities: ₹ 20 lakh for the Appellate Tribunal, ₹ 1 crore for High Courts, and ₹ 2 crore for the Supreme Court.A significant decision was the approval to roll out a Pan India biometric Aadhaar-based GST verification system to combat fraudulent claims and registrations. Aadhaar authentication has already significantly reduced fake registrations, which have nearly reached zero. The Council announced that Aadhaar-based authentication will be implemented in a phased manner starting immediately. Seven years after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), confidence in the regime is on the rise among corporate India, according to a Deloitte survey. This third edition of the survey involved 760 corporate executives across six sectors, revealing that 84% of respondents now hold a positive view of GST, up from 59% in 2022 and 72% in 2023. The most significant benefit identified was competitive pricing, with 73% of respondents recognizing it as a key operational advantage. Despite this optimism, the industry also highlighted several challenges that need to be addressed to further enhance the GST system. Join BTTV Managing Editor Siddharth Zarabi in conversation with Mahesh Jaising, Partner and Leader, Indirect Tax, Deloitte India.