Modi claims success with GST, credits it to states

Addressing the nation on the 45th edition of  his `Man ki Baat’ programme in All India Radio, on Sunday, Modi elaborated the reasons that led to the “success” of GST rollout and the changes that have been effected in the economy because of it.

India will celebrate the first anniversary of the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax, one of the biggest tax reforms undertaken by any government in the country, on 1 July.

In his monthly radio address to the nation, PM Modi said, “My dear countrymen! It’s been a year when GST was implemented. ‘One Nation, One Tax’ was the dream of the people of this country that has become a reality today. If I’ve to give credit to anyone for successful implementation of ‘One Nation One Tax reform’, then I credit the states of our nation.”

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which replaced over a dozen indirect taxes from 1 July last year, has led to not just ease of doing business but also rise in the tax base, he said.

Modi said 5.4 million new taxpayers have sought registration under the new regime, taking the number of indirect tax payers to over 10 million.

This compares with 6 million indirect tax payers in the pre-GST era, the prime minister said.

Addressing the nation through his monthly Mann Ki Baat broadcast on All India Radio, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said,  "It’s been a year when GST was implemented. If I’ve to give credit to anyone for successful implementation of ‘One Nation One Tax reform’, then I credit the states of our nation. In the GST scheme, information technology has replaced the inspector. Everything from return to refund is done through online information technology. The successful implementation of such a huge tax reform in India was successful only because the people of the country adopted it and through the power of the masses, fuelled the success of the GST scheme, .

“GST is a great example of cooperative federalism, where all the states decided to take a unanimous decision in the interest of the nation, and then such a huge tax reform could be implemented in the country. So far, there have been 27 meetings of the GST Council and we can all feel proud that people from different political ideologies have been involved in these meetings. These meetings involve representatives of different states; states which have different priorities, but in spite of all this, all the decisions that have been taken in the GST Council so far have been taken with absolute consensus. ”

“Before the onset of GST scheme, there were 17 different types of taxes prevailing in the country, but now only one tax is applicable in the entire country. GST is not only the victory of integrity but it is also a celebration of honesty. Earlier, in the case of taxation and allied affairs in the country, there were rampant complaints of Inspector Raj.”

“In the GST scheme, information technology has replaced the inspector. Everything from return to refund is done through online information technology.”

“The check post has become extinct after the arrival of the GST scheme and the movement of goods has become faster, which not only saves time but is also accruing benefits in the area of logistics. GST is probably the biggest tax reform in the world.”

“The successful implementation of such a huge tax reform in India was successful only because the people of the country adopted it and through the power of the masses, fuelled the success of the GST scheme. It is generally believed that such a big tax reform, in a huge country like ours with such a large population takes 5 to 7 years for effective adoption. However within a year, the enthusiasm of the honest people of this nation, the celebration of integrity in the country and the participation of people resulted in this new tax system managing to create a space for itself, has achieved stability and according to the need, it will bring reform through its inbuilt arrangement. This is a huge success in itself which 125 crore Indians have earned for themselves.”

He said technology has been a great leveller. In Bangalore, corporate professionals and IT engineers came along and created an effortless ‘Samridhi trust’ with which they have doubled the income of the farmers by successful activation of this trust.  Farmers who initially used to depend on the same single cash crop in their fields and that too where yield was also not good, thus being less remunertive, today are not only growing vegetables but also marketing their own vegetables, getting good prices through the trust.

Prime Minister Modi also lauded the recent cricket diplomacy between India and Afghanistan and praised Indian cricketers' gesture wherein they called in the Afghani counterparts while posing for photographs after winning the Test trophy. Modi also expressed pride in the way the 4th International Yoga Day was celebrated in India and abroad.

Modi on Friday spoke of targeting double-digit GDP growth for breaking into the $5 trillion economy club and said India's share in world trade has to be doubled to 3.4 per cent.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone of a new office complex of the ministry of commerce here, he said his government has in four years taken steps to ease the process of doing business in India while maintaining macroeconomic indicators like current account deficit (CAD) within limits.

He said GDP growth touched 7.7 per cent in the last quarter of 2017-18 fiscal but now the time has come to look beyond 7-8 per cent growth and target double-digit expansion.

Listing out achievements of his government, he said the country has moved away from a culture of delaying work through 'atkana, latkana and bhatkana' (obstructing, delaying and misguiding).

Foreign direct investment inflows as well as foreign exchange reserves are at record highs, he added.