'Modi had not discussed demonetization with me prior to his announcement on 8 November 2016. 'I learnt of it along with the rest of the country. 'I was not surprised when he did not discuss the issue with me prior to making the public announcement. 'It fitted in with his style of making dramatic announcements.' A fascinating excerpt from Pranab Mukherjee's The Presidential Years: 2012-2017.
The transition to a single, nationwide tax on goods and services will streamline business and boost the economy by tearing down barriers between 31 states and union territories.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appealed to parties to rise above partisan considerations to support it.
"This rationalisation is 3-4 month exercise," he said, adding that the GST Council decided on the rate cut on the recommendation of a Fitment Committee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation at the Central Hall of Parliament ahead of the GST launch at midnight. Here are highlights from the PM's speech
Export growth picked up mainly owing to rising global crude prices, which pushed up processed petroleum exports by nearly 40 per cent, apart from a broad-based improvement in exports of major foreign exchange earners such as engineering goods and gems and jewellery.
A well-functioning GST will enhance tax compliance and boost growth: IMF
Nearly 3,500 staffers were working in the building in the Mazagon area in South Mumbai when the fire broke out around 12.30 pm, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said. He assured a probe into the the fire, but clarified that no records were lost in the blaze due to digitisation of documents.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will hold a pre-Budget discussion with state governments on January 13.
The GST will replace more than a dozen levies central and state levies, including central excise duty, service tax and central sales tax as well as VAT on sale of goods and entry tax, to make movement of goods seamless across 1.3 billion market.
Although the markets could see a knee-jerk reaction, they rule out a sharp fall.
While Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated her stand that the central government was committed to cooperative federalism, finance ministers of non-BJP ruled states such as Punjab and Kerala said she refused to give a categorical assurance that states will be paid compensation on time.
If the concerns over risking political capital are overcome, the long-term gains for the Indian economy will be immense, asserts A K Bhattacharya.
The fiscal gains from implementing the GST and demonetisation, while almost certain to occur, will probably take time to be fully realised
The revised structure will help to keep airfares down, when airlines already face a triple challenge of rising crude oil prices, rupee depreciation and constrained airport capacity.
The aim of the exercise was to further simplify GST forms and make the filing process more user-friendly, the finance ministry said in a tweet, reports Dilasha Seth.
Sushil Kumar Modi, who ceased to be Bihar Finance Minister following the JD (U)-BJP split, on Monday resigned as Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers looking into the implementation of the proposed new indirect tax regime - Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The buoyancy in the tax revenue of GST reflects the upswing in the economy and better compliance
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
After 17 tumultuous years, a nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) will rollout from midnight of June 30, overhauling India's convoluted indirect taxation system and unifying the $2 trillion economy with 1.3 billion people into a single market.
He will succeed Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said despite the electronic way or E-way bill mechanism there has been rampant evasion and there is a need to increase compliance.
Petrol price on Thursday was cut by Rs 6.07 per litre and diesel price by Rs 11.75 in Delhi as oil companies passed on a record reduction in excise duty rates to consumers. Buckling under pressure, the government had on Wednesday cut excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 10 a litre to give reprieve to consumers battered by record high retail fuel prices. Since states charge local sales tax or VAT not just on the base price but also on the excise duty levied by the centre, the total incidence of price reduction is higher.
GST would make compliance easier for big businesses, but hurt small scale industries., says SJM
Small scale and cottage industries which are labour intensive will be severely hit.
In order to broaden the tax net, the government has sought public opinion on possibility of a negative list for service tax meaning that all services which are not mentioned in it would be taxed under the proposed GST regime.
He slammed those trying to stall passage of the Bill in Parliament saying they were attempting to 'stop progress of the country
India studied the Malaysian model, which was scrapped on Wednesday, before implementing the GST and borrowed the anti-profiteering clause to ensure GST benefits are passed on to the end-consumer by the industry
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
The government has proposed to implement GST from April 1, 2016, and the new Finance Commission may be set up ahead of its schedule to look into the issues related to the new indirect tax regime.
He, however, acknowledged that manufacturing states will suffer losses but said they will be compensated
The finance minister said the government was open to suggestions.
Know what terms like anti-profiteering, CGST, SGST, IGST means in the new regime
The Narendra Modi government's alacrity in promoting ease of tax administration, a critical component in the ease of doing business index, has set in motion several incremental policy and administrative reforms, says Mukesh Butani.
The BJP leadership is understandably mulling all options on the roll-out of the GST.
Chief statistician T C A Anant says growth figure might go up once indirect tax data is fully in, however, he agrees that private expenditure is yet to pick up
The government has decided to compensate states for any revenue loss on account of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a move that will encourage states to go in for the new tax structure scheduled to be implemented from April 1, next year.
Businesses that are engaged in both taxable and non-GST supply have re-structured themselves into separate entities to avoid elaborate compliance, says Sudipto Dey.
While the government has the option of ensuring the passage of these Bills as money Bills, there are voices within the government advising discretion on the GST roll-out by April 1.
For the sake of transparency, and to reduce undesirable bond market volatility, clarity on these would be welcome, preferably before the budgets for the next fiscal year get finalised, says Neelkanth Mishra.
