GST to change Budget structure

Shorter section on taxes may make space for more feel-good sops ahead of elections

The 2018-19 Union Budget, the first one since the implementation of the goods and service tax (GST), could have a markedly altered structure than the ones before.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (pictured) is expected to table the Budget and present his speech in Parliament on February 1, 2018. Part B of the speech, which contains tax announcements, is expected to be the shortest till date. This section covers direct and indirect taxes. But, the GST has subsumed almost all indirect taxes, leaving only basic Customs duty in the government’s hand. The reins of the new indirect tax regime are with