GST may be tweaked if needed: Gadkari

The GST may not be perfect and may cause some inconvenience initially but the government will make amendments if that happened, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday.

"I won't say that it (GST) is perfect or that people won't face any kind of inconvenience initially. It is a beginning," Gadkari said at the Aaj Tak GST Conclave.

"Some hard steps are needed to be taken but it will ultimately have a positive impact," he said.

The Minister urged people to be open to the new tax reform and experience it for two months and promised that the government would make amendments if any problems arose during implementation.

The Minister said the Goods and Services Tax, touted as the single most significant tax reform since Independence, would put an end to black money, end "inspector raj" and bring transparency.

"I hope 99 per cent (transactions) will come under formal economy which would immensely benefit the nation."

Gadkari added that bringing petrol and diesel under the GST net would increase the revenue of the states and it was for them to decide if they wanted to move in that direction.

He said 17 taxes and 22 types of cess would go due to GST implementation and the taxation system would become more efficient and simplified.

"We said that we would compensate states if their revenue decreases due to GST. But I believe that situation would never arise," Gadkari said.

"In fact, revenue of the states would increase by 15 (to) 20 (to) 25 per cent."

Gadkari said the move would also simultaneously boost the revenue of the central government, which would lead to a bigger annual budget, increase GDP and lower tax rates.

"Till now, we increased tax burden on those who paid their taxes honestly. Now (after GST) more people would come under the tax net and tax rates would come down."

--IANS

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