Goods And Service Tax

GST stands for “Goods and Services Tax”, and is proposed to be a comprehensive indirect tax levy on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods as well as services at the national level.

• Its main objective is to consolidates all indirect tax levies into a single tax, except customs (excluding SAD) replacing multiple tax levies, overcoming the limitations of existing indirect tax structure, and creating efficiencies in tax administration.
• The introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) would be a very significant step in the field of indirect tax reforms in India. By amalgamating a large number of Central and State taxes into a single tax, it would mitigate cascading or double taxation in a major way and pave the way for a common national market.
• From the consumer point of view, the biggest advantage would be in terms of a reduction in the overall tax burden on goods, which is currently estimated at 5%-18%.
• Introduction of GST would also make our products competitive in the domestic and international markets. Studies show that this would instantly spur economic growth. Last but not the least, this tax, because of its transparent character, would be easier to administer.

Tax payers need to be GST compliant to be able to test system changes in time. Depending on the operating geographies, size and sector, the changes would be substantial and may require proactive planning with a time-bound action plan.

In order to prepare for the implementation of GST, companies need to understand GST policy development and its implications for scenario planning and transition roadmap preparation.