GST will mitigate the cascading effect of taxation, says CII

The roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be a revolutionary step in the field of indirect taxation reform in India, said Chairman CII Himachal Pradesh State Council at the Preparatory Workshop, Sanjay Khurana.

By amalgamating a large number of Central and State taxes into a single entity, it will mitigate the cascading or double taxation effect in a major way and pave the way for a common unified national market, he added.

"It is important for industry to understand the impact and opportunities offered by this particular piece of legislation. GST will affect all industries, irrespective of the sector. It will impact the entire value chain of operations, namely procurement, manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, sales, and pricing. It will also trigger the need to relook at internal organization IT systems," added Khurana.

"GST is not just a game changer for the taxation structure of the country, but will also be an opportunity for India to upgrade its regulatory environment to the global best practices. He was of the opinion that if handled and implemented well, GST has the potential to unlock country's growth prospects," said Partner and National Head Indirect tax Grant Thornton India LLP, Amit Sarkar.

It is encouraging to see the efforts that the Government is making to bring GST to the best interest of the country said Krishan Arora, Director, Indirect tax, Grant Thornton India LLP.

He was hopeful that the monsoon session would witness consensus reached amongst all the political parties facilitating in this landmark reform progressing towards reality.

Sharing the recent development, Direct Tax Specialist, Priyanka Sahi said that the notification of foreign credit rules and valuation rules for indirect transfer is a welcome move by the Government bringing about clarity and showcasing Government's keenness to lend an ear to the stakeholders involved.

However, what also needs immediate attention is the roll out of final ICDS guidelines in tandem with addressing MAT implications as the industry moves towards adoption of Ind AS, she added.