Nirmala Sitharaman Concedes Some Flaws In GST , Seeks Help To Make It Better

Conceding that GST may have some flaws in its present form, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has now asked tax professionals not to curse it and sought their help to make it better.

Billed as the biggest reform in indirect taxation, the Goods & Services Tax, which does away with a host of levies from the federal to the local government levels, was implemented in July 2017.

The Minister was replying to the concerns raised by taxation industry professionals here, who said the industry was “cursing” the government over how the GST was implemented.

On several stakeholders “cursing” GST, Sitharaman even objected to a person who raised the question, and asked him not to damn the law which was passed by Parliament and all the State assemblies.

“After a long time, many parties in Parliament and in State assemblies worked together and came up with the Act. I know you are saying this based on your experiences but suddenly we cannot call ‘what a goddamn structure it is’,” the Minister said.

She interacted with people from industries, chartered accountants, company secretaries and many other stakeholders in the financial sector.

Stating that it has been only two years since GST was implemented, she said she would have wished the new structure was satisfactory from day one.