New Delhi, Sep 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that from tomorrow, India will implement next-generation Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms under which there will primarily be two tax slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent. He said this change would make most daily use items more affordable for citizens.
Addressing the nation, PM Modi, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said the reforms were being introduced in line with the country’s current needs and future aspirations. “Reform is a continuous process. As times change and the country’s needs change, next-generation reforms are equally necessary,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister, food items, medicines, soaps, brushes, toothpaste, health insurance and life insurance will either be tax-free or attract only 5 per cent tax. “Out of the goods which were earlier taxed at 12 per cent, 99 per cent of the items have now come under the slab of 5 per cent,” he said.
PM Modi announced that from the first day of Navratri, the government will also launch a nationwide “GST Bachat Utsav” or savings festival. “From tomorrow, the GST Savings Festival is going to begin across the country. Your savings will increase, and you will be able to easily buy the things of your choice,” Modi said. He added that poor families, the middle class, shopkeepers, farmers, youth, women, and entrepreneurs will all benefit from the new tax structure.
The Prime Minister linked the tax reforms to the larger changes in the economy over the past decade. He said that in the last eleven years, 25 crore people in the country had moved out of poverty and were now part of what he called the “neo-middle class.” He said this group had its own aspirations and would gain significantly from both GST simplification and recent income tax relief. “This year, the government presented a gift by making income up to Rs 12 lakh tax-free,” he said. “When income tax relief up to Rs 12 lakh is granted, the lives of the middle class undergo a profound transformation.”
PM Modi recalled the challenges businesses faced before GST was introduced in 2017. “For decades, the people of our country, traders, and businesses were trapped in the web of multiple taxes. Octroi, entry tax, sales tax, excise, VAT, service tax—so many kinds of taxes existed,” he said.
He cited an example reported in a foreign newspaper of a company that found it easier to send goods from Bengaluru to Europe and then ship them back to Hyderabad, rather than deal with tax barriers between states.
He said the introduction of GST in 2017, after consultations with all states and stakeholders, ended the system of multiple taxes and checkpoints. “By taking every state and everyone along, such a big tax reform became possible in independent India. The dream of ‘One Nation, One Tax’ to create a unified system across the country was fulfilled,” he said.
With the new reforms, PM Modi said, businesses will find it easier to operate, investment will become more attractive, and all states will participate equally in the race for development—(KNO)
