GST Bill will enhance GDP growth to double digits: PHD Chamber

While congratulating all the political parties in finding the common ground to amend the constitution for transition from tedious indirect taxes to a harmonised GST, Dr. Mahesh Gupta, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that this historic move by the Government is commendable as India will move towards double digit growth trajectory in the next few years.

Currently, Indian economy is moving towards 8% growth in 2016-17 on account of various positivities such as good monsoon and uptick in the industrial activity, said Dr. Gupta.

GST will enhance India’s growth trajectory to 10% in the next few years by 2019-20.

However, states must be reaching agreement on the rates and processes to be adopted in the coming times, added Dr. Gupta.

GST would be beneficial for many policy reforms announced by the Government of India during the recent past, he said. Make in India program would also get a boost with improvement in ease of doing business by doing away with multiplicity of taxes and their cascading impact. GST will enhance production possibilities, attract FDIs and increase employment opportunities in the economy, added Dr. Gupta.

The implementation of GST will reduce the barriers between states and will make the country a common market, increase tax revenue for the states due to a wider tax base and better compliance, he added.

GST implementation will help in reducing tax evasion, enable greater control and facilitate efficient monitoring than the traditional taxation system. GST will create a common base and common rates across goods and services and reduce transaction costs, he said.

With the reduction in the compliance costs, our trade and industry will become more competitive leading to reduction in transaction costs, an increase in export competitiveness and lower domestic prices, added Dr. Gupta.

Going forward, the need of the hour is to spread awareness at a larger scale about the implementation procedure and advantages of GST to every citizen of the country, said Dr. Gupta.