GST reforms intended to benefit people, small businesses, economy: Sitharaman

New -delhi: GST reforms, including reducing tax rate, which is effective on September 22, is aimed at favoring the poor and the middle class, farmers and small businesses while increasing consumption and investment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. Sitharaman, who addresses a meeting in Kolkata over the next generation GST reforms in Kolkata, said the reforms seek to simplify the tax structure, increase affordability, strengthen compliance and stimulate industrial growth. The reforms also seek to benefit the diverse businesses, crafts and industries of West Benglals, the minister said. The Finance Ministry on Wednesday notified the renovated restructuring of the GST rate, issued other changes in forms and regularly issued questions to help businesses with the implementation of the Reformation. Earlier this month, the GST council announced tax cuts on a wide range of daily use and aspirational goods, ranging from packaged food to consumer electronics as part of the indirect tax in a mainly two-rate structure. The move was aimed at simplifying the tax system and stimulating the demand for consumption. The decisions were the largest review of the GST regime. Cheaper goods experts said the rate reduction would reduce the prices of goods, increase consumption, reduce complexity and classification disputes and would go a long way to make GST a good and simple tax. Sitharaman said the reforms are expected to inject around £ 2 trillion into the economy by increasing consumption and relieving the tax burden. The GST review was performed by reviewing the tax system from different user perspectives. “Will it help the poor and the middle class? – will it support the pursuit of the middle class? – will it benefit farmers? – will it help MSMEs? – For the larger economy, will it support sectors that need rapid growth, attract investments and encourage consumption as India is viked by 2047?” said the minister and identified the most important considerations that formed the tax reform. “The new generation GST is not just about reducing rates and relieving citizens, but also to clean the confusion that businesses face and to make the compliance simpler,” Sitharaman said. The reform of the process reform key process is also an important feature of the new generation GST reforms the government has introduced, she said. The renovated GST comes into effect on the first day of Navratri, the minister said. Navratri celebrate and worship the different forms of the goddess Durga. Sitharaman explained that most goods and services now fall into primary rates of 5% for essential items and 18% for most others. Many essential food items, medicines, health insurance, daily use consumer goods, domestic electronics, digital learning instruments and educational institutions have benefited from the tax relief. Sustainability -friendly products such as composting machines also benefit from reduced GST, the minister added. The minister said tax relief also benefits the artisans, farmers and small entrepreneurs of Bengal, making their products more competitive in both domestic and global markets. She reiterated that the simplified pages and lower rates were not only designed to alleviate the citizens, but also to create a predictable and fair environment for businesses, especially MSMEs and industrialists.