A seminar on ‘Good and Services Tax - Critique, Legislation and Implementation’ was organised by School of Social Sciences and SP Mandali’s LN Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research (WeSchool). The event aimed to deliberate and discuss ‘Good and Services Tax – the concept, structure, challenges and its full potential to benefit the common man.
Noted gurus from academia and the finance sector, such as Ashutosh Thaker, CA, NMAH & Co; Jiban K Mukhopadhyay, Former Chief Economic Advisor, Tata Group and Prof Kanu Doshi, Dean, Finance, WeSchool, spoke. Dr Sudhir Paranjape, Director, School of Social Sciences, set the context of GST and summarised how the reform has fared till now.
Extending a warm welcome, Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool, said: “It is our pleasure to welcome a stalwart like Dr Asim Dasgupta, architect of GST, at this collaborative initiative with School of Social Sciences to enlighten students, traders and the academic fraternity about one of India’s biggest tax reforms. At WeSchool we strive to align ourselves with national missions such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ and ‘Cashless India’. It is our constant endeavour to collaborate with various stakeholders in co-creating a better future for our nation.”
Effectiveness, benefits
Dr Asim Dasgupta outlined the journey of GST from inception to implementation. “GST is a powerful mechanism and its true effectiveness can be realised when both the State and Central Governments work together. Introduction of VAT was the beginning, it had the potential to reduce the tax burden and increase revenue, and GST is the nest step in this direction to set the nation on an accelerated path of progress”.
“The structure of GST was created in consultation with the States, trade bodies, and Chambers of Commerce; hence, its structure is good but its implementation needs smoother processes for the benefit of all stakeholders. Removing the bottlenecks in processes will not only benefit industry and trade but encourage entrepreneurs immensely. Evasion of tax and hiding black money will become impossible, bringing long-term benefits to the economy,” he added .
Roadblocks, bottlenecks
Experts expressed concern about the roadblocks faced by the stakeholders in the implementation of the GST.
Ashutosh Thaker, chartered accountant and specialist on GST, elaborated on the ground realities and roadblocks faced by almost all sectors focusing on textiles, jewellery, bullion, exports and SMEs, and outlined possible solutions. “Providing a system of service providers was a thoughtful step meant to help the business community file their returns but the care should have been taken to establish smooth functioning between their computer systems and network and that of the GST”, he said.
Prof Kanu Doshi, Dean Finance, WeSchool, emphasised the acute need for streamlining the implementation of GST, though he said the slowdown in economy should not be linked to GST.
The seminar ended on an optimistic note that by 2019, all the teething troubles in implementation would be removed and GST would really become the biggest instrument of economic and social change in the country.
While Prof Jiban K Mukhopadhyay anchored and summarised the proceedings, Prof Madhu Paranjape proposed a vote of thanks.