While addressing speech in the launch event President Pranab Mukherjee said that, GST is a disruptive change, initially the country will have to face some teething troubles that will solve promptly, so that the economic growth of the country will not get affected.
“When a change of this magnitude is undertaken, however positive it may be, there are bound to be some teething troubles and difficulties in the initial stages”, President Pranab Mukherjee address in the speech few minutes before the implementation of GST Regime. He further added that, ” We will have to solve these with understanding and speed to ensure that it does not impact the growth momentum of the economy. Success of such major changes always depends on their effective implementation”.
Infact after the roll out of indirect taxation regime the GST Council continuously assess the progress of the implementation and provide some suitable suggestions in the new taxation regime.
Mukherjee said “The new era in taxation, which we are about to initiate in a few minutes, is the result of a broad consensus arrived at between the Centre and states”, Mukherjee said. He further added that, “This consensus took not only time but also effort to build. The effort came from persons across the political spectrum who set aside narrow partisan considerations and put the nation’s interests first. It is a tribute to the maturity and wisdom of India’s democracy.”
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While recalling his old days as Finance Minister, Mukherjee said Constitution Amendment Bill was introduced by him in 2011 year and it was a proud moment for him. He said, “It is also a moment of some satisfaction for me because, as the Finance Minister, I had introduced the Constitution Amendment Bill on 22 March, 2011”. He further added that “I was closely involved in the design and implementation and had the occasion to meet the Empowered Committee of state finance ministers, formally and informally, as many as 16 times”.
Minister also said, “I also met the chief ministers of Gujarat, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra a number of times. I have a vivid recollection of those meetings and the various matters that were raised”. He further added that, “Yet, I found both in those meetings and in my many interactions with Chief Ministers, Finance Ministers and officers of states, that most of them had a constructive approach and an underlying commitment to the introduction of GST”.
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Goods and Service Tax (GST) was firstly introduced in the Budget Speech in the financial year of 2006-07. His confidence build up when the GST Bill was approved by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on 8th September 2016, he had the privilege of giving assent to the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act. The President called upon “every Indian to extend cooperation in the successful implementation of the new system”.
Mukherjee said on the implementation issue, new indirect taxation regime is a disruptive change and it is similar like a VAT when there was initially refused. “In the months to come, based on the experience of actual implementation, the GST Council and the Central and state governments should continuously review the design and make improvements, in the same constructive spirit as has been displayed till now”, he said.
Discovering that GST will be handled with the help of modern world-class information technology system. He recalled that in 2011 the President has built an Empowered Group for the development of IT systems needed for the new indirect taxation regime under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani.
The indirect taxation regime will be providing several benefits such as transparent, reduces the tax burden and full incidence of domestic taxes on imports.
President said, the new GST regime will create a common unified market, improves economic efficiency, tax compliance, domestic and foreign investment. He said the GST will “also make our exports more competitive and also provide a level playing field to domestic industry to compete with imports”.