Nirmala Sitharaman: GST has reduced the rate at which people have to pay tax. India Business News – Times of India

New Delhi: With goods and services Tax Governance completing four years, Finance Ministry said on Wednesday more than 66 crores GST So far the returns have been filed and the lower tax rates have helped in increasing compliance.
A nationwide GST, consisting of 17 local levies such as excise duty, service tax and VAT and 13 cess, was launched on July 1, 2017.
In a series of tweets, the ministry said that GST has simplified compliance for all taxpayers and the GST Council has also recommended several business beneficial clarifications in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under GST, businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh are exempted from tax. Additionally, people with a turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore can opt for the composition scheme and pay only 1 per cent tax.
For services, businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh in a year are exempt from GST. A service provider having a turnover of up to Rs 50 lakh in a year can opt for composition scheme for services and pay only 6 per cent tax.
“It is now widely accepted that GST is both consumer and taxpayer friendly. While the high tax rates of the pre-GST era acted as a deterrent to paying tax, the lower rates under GST did Helped to enhance tax compliance. Over 66 crore GST returns have been filed so far,” the ministry tweeted.
In many markets across India, each state charged a different rate of tax, leading to major inefficiencies and increased compliance costs. The ministry said compliance is improving continuously with around 1.3 crore taxpayers registered under GST.
The ministry tweeted with the hashtag ‘4yearsofGST’ that GST has reduced the rate at which people have to pay tax. “The revenue neutral rate recommended by the RNR committee was 15.3 per cent. In comparison, the current weighted GST rate, as per RBI, is only 11.6 per cent”.
GST has significantly simplified one of the most complex indirect tax systems and a company wishing to do business in each state had to make 495 separate submissions. Under GST, this number has come down to just 12.
“GST has replaced the complex indirect tax structure with a simpler, transparent and technology driven tax regime thus integrating India into a common market.
The ministry said, “With continuous simplification of procedures and rationalization of rate structures, so as to ease GST compliance for the common man as well as the business, we have been able to achieve economic integration of the country with a human touch. ”
Under GST, a four-rate structure that exempts or levies a lower rate of tax of 5 percent on essential goods and a top rate of 28 percent on cars. The other slabs of tax are 12 and 18 per cent. In the pre-GST era, an average of 31 per cent tax was payable to the consumer due to total VAT, Excise Duty, CST and their cascading implications.
The GST also represents an unprecedented exercise in fiscal federalism. The GST Council, which brings together the central and state governments, has met 44 times to discuss how the tax will work.