GST reduced tax rates, doubled taxpayer base to 12.4 million: FinMin

The finance ministry on Monday said the goods and services tax (GST) had reduced the rate at which people have to pay tax, helped increase compliance, and doubled taxpayer base to 12.4 million. In a series of tweets, on the first death anniversary of former finance minister Arun Jaitley, the ministry said before GST, the combination of va­lue-added tax, excise, sales tax, and their cascading effect resulted in high standard rate of tax up to 31 per cent. “It is widely acknowledged that GST is both consumer- and taxpayer-friendly,” it said. 

The number of assessees covered by the GST at the time of its inception were about 6.5 million. Now the assessee base exceeds 12.4 million. GST, which subsumed about 17 local levies, was rolled out on July 1, 2017. Jaitley held the finance portfolio in the first term of the Modi government since 2014. 

“As we remember Arun Jaitley, let us acknowledge the key role he played in the implementation of GST, which will go down in history as one of the most fundamental landmark reforms in Indian taxation,” the ministry tweeted.