Ten News Ground Report : On One Year of GST, Greater Noida business community share their views!
Saurabh Kumar / Baidyanath Halder
It has been full one year since India woke up to a new indirect tax regime — the GST. In a grand event inside the Parliament’s Central Hall, India launched the Goods and Services Tax on midnight of June 30 and July 1, 2017 which was finally passed after 17 years of deadlock. The GST launch became one of the biggest tax reforms in the country that included over a dozen different central and state taxes into one but with several slabs.
Between then and now, on one hand, the GST has been criticized for being complicated and on the other hand has been hailed for its potential for strengthening the Indian economy. It has been slammed for pushing India’s GDP to a three-year-low, while praised for hitting Rs 1 trillion collection; it has been criticized but also has been commended as an ‘act of courage‘.
But as India’s landmark completes one year TEN NEWS tried to conduct a ground reality check of this mega economical reforms and interacted with some the Greater Noida businessmans. Our team visited Greater Noida’s famous Jagat Farm Market and interacted with various shopkeepers.
Over the question regarding its implementation showroom owners admitted that during initial days they faced some problems but later it all became swift and speedy as all of the process is online. Earlier we have to pay different kind of taxes in different states but now it has become one.
On question of whether GST had affected the market and brought the business down, owners replied that it’s the perception of people that GST will badly affect the sales but nothing such happened, everything is fine and became more transparent we are paying our own taxes and everything is getting done now on time.
Businessmen only complaint for now was that GST has not been regulated and properly most of the small shop owners don’t have any GST numbers and they do not have to file any tax return which is injustice with others and government must take action against such defaulters.
