In grand GST launch, Modi sarkar shows its commitment to ‘vikas’

Amid the opposition's protest, the Narendra Modi government went ahead with the launch of GST.

New Delhi, July 1: It was truly a grand event of mammoth proportion. As President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries from various walks of life attended the launch of Goods and Services Tax (GST) at Parliament's Central Hall on Friday night, the country stepped into a new era of economic reforms.

Amid the opposition's protest against the early launch of GST, the Modi government's firm stand to go ahead with the inauguration of new tax regime showed its commitment to Sabka Saath, Saabka Vikas (collective efforts, inclusive growth)--a popular slogan of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

"In a short while, India will move towards a new direction. We are deciding India's future course," said PM Modi during the launch event.

He added, "This historic reform is not an achievement of any one government or party. India is a shining example of cooperative federalism. The GST is a result of combined efforts of all political parties. The GST is a work of Team India. From Ganganagar to Itanagar, from Leh to Lakshwadeep, the nation will see one nation, one tax."

While most of the leaders of the ruling BJP-led NDA alliance were present at the event, many from the opposition including former PM Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were conspicuous by their absence.

The GST will simplify a web of taxes, regulations and border levies by subsuming an array of central and state levies including excise duty, service tax and VAT. It is expected to gradually re-shape India's business landscape, making the world's fastest-growing major economy an easier place to do business.

The GST has been dubbed as the most significant economic reform since BJP government came to power in 2014 and is expected to add as much as 2 percentage points to the GDP growth rate besides raising government revenues by widening the tax net.

A four-rate structure that exempts or imposes a low rate of tax of 5 per cent on essential items and top rate of 28 per cent on cars and consumer durables has been finalised. The other slabs of tax are 12 and 18 per cent.

Several opposition parties including the Congress and the Left decided to skip the launch event, primarily citing the fact that India is not ready to embrace the GST as of now.

They alleged that the Modi government was in a hurry to introduce the GST which would directly impact thousands of small and medium businesses bringing large-scale loss to the overall economy.

In reply to the opposition's allegations, senior BJP leader and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari told NDTV that the critics like Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are opposing the GST because of "their political compulsion".

OneIndia News