Industry body welcomes GST, terms it revolutionary

‘GST is encouraging for new entrepreneurs who have to cope with a large number of taxes’

The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has welcomed the new GST rule passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

A statement from chamber president K.B. Rajan said the idea of ‘One Nation One Tax’ had been long pending, and that the credit for it should go to both the ruling and the Opposition parties.

From a businessman’s point of view, the primary benefit of GST is simplification of business operations, which is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘ease of doing business’. GST will disincentivise tax evasion and contribute to the GDP, he said.

“A minimum of 14 different taxes, including service tax, VAT, cesses, surcharges, and Central Excise duty, are all going to be replaced by just two taxes, Central and State GST. It is encouraging for new entrepreneurs who find it hard to cope with the large number of taxes they have to deal with,” the statement added.

According to Mr. Rajan, GST will also see reduction in taxes in certain areas. “But being a consumer State, Kerala might not benefit as much compared to other States,” he said.

The business community is eagerly awaiting the implementation of a revolutionary change, the statement added.