Skip to main content

Scope to Club 12% & 18% GST Slabs Into One Later: Jaitley

By

Finance minister said if the two rates had been merged into one, its inflationary effect would have been high & thus govt didn’t get into this exercise Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said there is scope to rationalise goods and services tax (GST) and rolling 12% and 18% slabs into one as implementation of the country’s most comprehensive indirect tax reforms progresses.
“I do concede that as it (GST) moves forward, there will be scope for rationalising the rates. 
There, probably, will be scope that the two standard rates of 12% and 18%, after some time, could be clubbed into one. That is a fair possibility and a suggestion,” Jaitley said replying to debate on the two bills related to GST in J&K.
Central Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017 and the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017 were later passed by a voice vote. The current GST has 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% rates, plus one for luxury and sin goods. There are some that are zero rated, or nil rate.
Jaitley said if the two rates had been merged into one its inflationary effect would have been high. “Therefore, we did not get into this exercise,” he said responding to criticism over several slabs in the GST rates Jaitley said there can’t be a single slab in a country like India which has a large population below poverty line (BPL). As an example, he said a hawai chappal and a BMW car could not be taxed at the same rate.
The finance minister also wondered why certain manufacturers have hiked the prices of small hybrid cars even though the duty has been reduced. He added that a hybrid car is priced higher and those who buy it can afford to pay a little more.
He said one of the GST objectives is to assist domestic products and the government does not want to just allow cheap foreign products to come in.
Jaitley said the passage of the bills will ensure greater economic integration of the state with rest of the country. He asserted that special status of Jammu and Kashmir was “never meant to create economic impediment” as he maintained that the GST is in the larger interest of traders and consumers of J&K.
Jaitley said it was a positive step that J&K has been integrated with GST and the dream of one tax regime is now met, hitting out at the Congress party for its reported claim that GST would infringe upon the special status of J&K.
“If they (J&K) didn’t integrate, the traders would not have got input credit and the tax on final products would have been higher... That would have made products costlier and consumers would have to pay more,” the minister said. “J&K is a consumer state and GST being a destination based tax, revenues of the state would increase.” He added that if GST was not put in place in J&K, then customers would prefer to buy products like cars and refrigerators from outside the state.
The Economic Times, New Delhi, 03rd August 2017

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Credit card spending growth declines on RBI gaze, stress build-up

By
  Credit card spends have further slowed down to 16.6 per cent in the current financial year (FY25), following the Reserve Bank of India’s tightening of unsecured lending norms and rising delinquencies, and increased stress in the portfolio.Typically, during the festival season (September–December), credit card spends peak as several credit card-issuing banks offer discounts and cashbacks on e-commerce and other platforms. This is a reversal of trend in the past three financial years stretching to FY21 due to RBI’s restrictions.In the previous financial year (FY24), credit card spends rose by 27.8 per cent, but were low compared to FY23 which surged by 47.5 per cent. In FY22, the spending increased 54.1 per cent, according to data compiled by Macquarie Research.ICICI Bank recorded 4.4 per cent gross credit losses in its FY24 credit card portfolio as against 3.2 per cent year-on-year. SBI Cards’ credit losses in the segment stood at 7.4 per cent in FY24 and 6.2 per cent in FY23, the...
Post a Comment
Read more

SFBs should be vigilant, proactive to mitigate risks: RBI deputy guv

By
  The Reserve Bank of India’s Deputy Governor Swaminathan J on Friday instructed the directors of small finance banks (SFBs) to be vigilant and proactive in identifying emerging risks in the sector.Speaking at a conference for directors on the boards of SFBs, Swaminathan highlighted the role of governance in guiding SFBs towards sustainable growth with stability. He also emphasised the importance of sustainable business models.Additionally, he highlighted the need for strengthening cybersecurity to protect the entities against digital threats and urged for a stronger focus on financial inclusion, customer service, and grievance redressal to ensure a broader reach of banking services.Executive Directors S C Murmu, Rohit Jain, and R L K Rao, along with other senior officials representing the Supervision, Regulation, and Enforcement Departments of the RBI, also participated in the conference.   -  Business Standard  30 th  September, 2024
Post a Comment
Read more

Brigade Hotel Ventures files draft papers with Sebi for Rs 900 crore IPO

By
  Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd, owner and developer of hotels in South India, has filed draft papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 900 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).The proposed IPO is entirely a fresh issue of equity shares with no Offer-for-Sale (OFS) component, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).Proceeds from the issue to the tune of Rs 481 crore will go towards payment of debt, Rs 412 crore will be allocated to the company and Rs 69 crore to its material subsidiary, SRP Prosperita Hotel Ventures Ltd.Additionally, Rs 107.52 crore will be used to purchase an undivided share of land from the Promoter, BEL, and the remaining funds will support acquisitions, other strategic initiatives, and general corporate purposes.The company may raise up to Rs 180 crore through a Pre-IPO Placement.   If the placement is undertaken, the issue size will be reduced.Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brigade Enterprises ...
Post a Comment
Read more