Rajya Sabha has passed the GST bill finally with support
from all major parties.Chidamabaram, ex finance minister and Jaitley, current finace
minister had some heated exchanges in parliament before unanimous agreement in
passing the bill.
The first step of approval paves way for the long journey of
transformation of the way tax system operates in India. There will be
eventually one tax for all goods manufactured and sold across India.
States will lose revenue in some cases while major
businesses may benefit in avoiding taxes at various levels both at central and
state levels separately.
The prices of goods like automobiles and textiles may drop
while prices of other goods like telephone hand sets and digital services may
increase.
The GST amount has not been agreed upon yet but most parties
seem to recommend 18% as the ceiling amount on GST as proposed strongly by
Chidambaram during the debate.
The approval of GST is an indication that inspite of huge disagreement
on various policies among major parties like Congress, CPI, CPM and other
opposition parties these parties can still work together to introduce major
reforms which is of national interest ultimately.
Doing business will become very easy in India and GST will
simplify the tax process in this complex country where states and the centre
operate separately when it comes to taxing goods and services.
The average customer may benefit from reduction of prices on
many goods and the business owners will find the tax system easy to navigate
with the introduction of GST.
Skilled service providers and film industry can now charge
GST for their services. Building and construction businesses may end up
spending more for skilled service providers with the introduction of GST.
India now faces the huge challenge ahead of deciding on GST
proportion and then subsequently implementation across all sectors. This will
need amendment of the existing constitution and introducing new tax laws.
