Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India:Prospects and the Road Ahead

Abstract

After the passage of the Constitution (122nd) Amendment Bill, 2014 for Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the Lok Sabha on 6th May, 2015, the prospects of replacement of all the indirect taxes levied on goods and services by the Centre and States looks brighter. GST offers a comprehensive tax regime with minimum exemptions. Industry experts are of the opinion that GST will be a game changing reform for Indian economy by developing a common Indian market and reducing the cascading effect of taxation on the cost of goods and services. It will impact the Tax Structure, Tax Incidence, Tax Computation, Tax Payment, Compliance, Credit Utilization and Reporting leading to a complete overhaul of the current indirect tax system. In this paper, a humble attempt being made to capture the essence of GST and its modus-operandi, the journey towards GST as of now and future roadmap, prospects of GST regime and the challenges lies on the road ahead in a brief and coherent manner.