The tax on goods and services (TPS), the largest tax reform in India since independence, extended beyond midnight on Friday at the site of the sacred Central Hall of Parliament to inaugurate a new indirect tax regime in an event Which sought to evoke memories of the famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ night when the country was released in 1947.
One minute after the stroke of midnight, President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi pressed the button to launch the new indirect tax regime on a digital screen with “GST” with a golden hue. Conceived on the principle of “a nation, a tax, a market”, the tax that subscribes 17 central and state taxes was launched in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister H.D. Must Gowda, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, deputies, ministers, state finance ministers, officials of the Center and the states.
Although the Act GST was a product of consensus that evolved over 14 years, the role in the parliamentary Parliament was boycotted by major opposition parties like the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, RJD, DMK and the Left parties , Saying that the government was making a show of legislation for self-promotion, a charge Jaitley rejected. According to his party’s decision, former PM Manmohan Singh stayed away from the event. However, parliamentarians and leaders of the allies of the NCP Congress and Samajwadi Party attended the function.
Addressing the meeting, President Pranab Mukherjee said the introduction of the GST is a precedent for the country and a matter of personal satisfaction for him because of his role as former Finance Minister. “I had always believed that the GST was a matter of time and I was happy when it was promulgated and passed the constitutional amendment last year,” he said. He said the new law is a tribute to the maturity and wisdom of Indian democracy. The GST Council was a unique experiment under the Indian Constitution due to shared sovereignty.
In his speech, Modi said the launch of GST is the best example of cooperative federalism and the success of Indian democracy. “The credit for the new law does not go to a party or a government, but is a shared legacy of all,” he said. In a veiled reply to criticism of the opposition to the midnight function in Parliament, the Prime Minister said that there can be no “better and more sacred” than the Central Hall for historical deployment.
The GST process can not be limited to the just economic system, but was a collective effort of all, he said,
Adding that it was the product of long discussions among the best brains of the country. “It is an example of the strength and skill of Team India,” he said. Speaking to eminent personalities such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Babu Rajendra Prasad, who had adorned the Central Hall, Modi said that as Patel had integrated the country, the GST would economically integrate the country. He described the GST as “the good and simple tax” – well because there will be no tax on the tax and simple because there will be only one form of tax. It will also help eliminate black money and corruption because of the transparency it aims to bring, he said. Modi said that what was missing in the country’s growth and development, the GST will provide the opportunity to realize them. Prior to launch, the GST Council reduced the fertilizer rate from 12% to 5% and from the exclusive parts of tractors from 28% to 18% to reduce the burden on farmers.
The launch of GST, which the government claimed would result in the reduction of prices of common consumer goods, also occurred amid fears of several business sections that prices would rise under the new regime. Welcoming the meeting, Jaitley described the GST as the largest and most ambitious fiscal reform being a country achievement through consensus. It highlights the fact that India can overcome narrow policy and work for the benefit of the country. In doing the GST, neither the Center nor the states renounced their sovereignty.
He said that all deputies, state governments, political parties, state finance ministers and dedicated officials of the Center and the states deserve to be appreciated for carrying out the GST Bill. Jaitley said that under the GST, revenues will rise as compliance rises and GDP will also rise. The Central Hall of Parliament has witnessed this function only three times before. First was on the occasion of Independence when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made The second was the Silver Jubilee of Independence in 1972 and the Golden Jubilee in 1997. The GST is expected to check tax evasion and expand the tax base. In the new regime, all presentations will be made only through the electronic mode to ensure a non-intrusive administration. This will minimize the physical intents of taxpayers
