SHRI Ganesh Enterprises

Goods and Services Tax is an indirect tax used in India on the supply of goods and services. It is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax: comprehensive because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes except a few state taxes. Goods and services are divided into five different tax slabs for collection of tax - 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. However, petroleum products, alcohol drinks and electricity are not taxed under GST and instead are taxed separately by the individual state government, as per the previous tax system. There is a special rate of 0.25% on rough precious and semi-precious stones and 3% on gold. In addition a case of 22% or other rates on top of 28% GST applies on few items like aerated drinks, luxury car and tobacco products. Pre-GST, the statutory tax rate for most goods was about 26.5%, Post-GST, most goods are expected to be in the 18% tax range.

The tax came into effect from 1 July 2017 through the implementation of the One Hundred and First Amendment of the Constitution of India by the India Government. The GST replaced existing multiple taxes levied by the central and state governments.

The tax rates, rules and regulations are governed by the GST Council which consists of the finance ministers of the central Government and all the states. The GST is meant to replace a slew of indirect taxes with a federated tax and is therefore expected to reshape the country's 2.4 trillion dollar economy, but its implementation has received criticism. Positive outcomes of the GST includes the travel time in interstate movement, which dropped by 20%, because of disbanding of interstate check posts.

A person or firm who has a small business, traders, small shops, and common people who are directly or indirectly part of GST because the registration of GST is based on State and PAN. The supplier has to register in each such State or Union territory from where he does supply. The GST was launched at midnight on 1 July 2017 by the President of India, and the Government of India. The launch was marked by a historic midnight (30 June – 1 July) session of both the houses of parliament convened at the Central Hall of the Parliament. Though the session was attended by high-profile guests from the business and the entertainment industry including Ratan Tata, it was boycotted by the opposition due to the predicted problems that it was bound to lead for the middle and lower class Indians. The tax was strongly opposed by the opposing Indian National Congress. It is one of the few midnight sessions that have been held by the parliament - the others being the declaration of India's Independence on 15 August 1947, and the silver and golden jubilees of that occasion. After its launch, the GST rates have been modified multiple times, the latest being on 22 December 2018, where a panel of federal and state finance ministers decided to revise GST rates on 28 goods and 53 services.

Members of the Congress boycotted the GST launch altogether. They were joined by members of the Tirnamool Congress, Communist parties of India and the DMK. The parties reported that they found virtually no difference between the GST and the existing taxation system, claiming that the government was trying to merely rebrand the current taxation system. They also argued that the GST would increase existing rates on common daily goods while reducing rates on luxury items, and affect many Indians adversely, especially the middle, lower middle and poorer income groups.