GST in India : A Critical Review

Purpose: - Traditionally India's tax regime relied heavily on indirect taxes. Revenue from indirect taxes was the major source of tax revenue till tax reforms were undertaken during nineties. The major argument put forth for heavy reliance on indirect taxes was that the India's majority of population was poor and thus widening base of direct taxes had inherent limitations. But the Indian system of indirect taxation is characterized by cascading, distorting tax on production of goods and services which leads to hampering productivity and slower economic growth. There are endless taxes in present system few levied by Centre and rest levied by state, to remove this multiplicity of taxes and reducing the burden of the tax payer a simple tax is required and that is Goods and Service Tax (GST). This paper throws an insight into the Goods and Service Tax concept, Model, advantages, disadvantages and its impact on Indian economy. Design/Research Methodology/Approach: - The paper is based on secondary data. The paper is based on extant literature and internet sources have been used. The various articles, researches, government reports, newspapers, magazines, various websites and the information on internet have been studied. Key Findings: - Amalgamating several Central and State taxes into a single tax would mitigate cascading or double taxation, facilitating a common national market. The simplicity of the tax should lead to easier administration and enforcement. GST is expected to pave way for better e-commerce and will make industries more competitive. GST will be a game changing reform for Indian economy by developing a common Indian market and reducing the cascading effect of tax on the cost of goods and services. It will impact the Tax Structure, Tax Incidence, Tax Computation, Tax Payment, Compliance, Credit Utilization and Reporting leading to a complete overhaul of the current indirect tax system.Research Limitations/Implications: - The present study provides a starting-point for further research in this field. This study can further be explored with respect to real benefits in India