In a six-month drive led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the government is undertaking a comprehensive revamp of the GST (Goods and Services Tax) system. This initiative, which began shortly after the budget was presented on February 1, has involved nearly 50 internal meetings with officials and revenue secretaries.
The main objective is to simplify and improve the GST framework for everyone. The key focus areas include:
- Rate Rationalization: An item-by-item review of rates is being conducted to move towards a simpler two-slab structure, with the goal of bringing predictability and reducing the tax burden on citizens and small businesses.
- Simplified Registration: The ministry aims to streamline the registration process, with a goal of processing 95% of applications within three days using risk profiling.
- Faster Refunds: To address delays, the plan is to reduce human intervention in the refund process for exports and introduce pre-filled returns to minimize mismatches.
- Improved Compliance: The government hopes to simplify processes to enhance compliance and address long-standing issues like the inverted duty structure.
By making these changes, the finance ministry hopes to boost consumption, improve the ease of doing business, and usher in the “next-generation” of GST reforms.