Before the Lok Sabha election, the national parties have unveiled their election manifestos proposing some major changes in the existing laws and policies. The NDA Government, on 1st July 2017, introduced the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) which changed the entire face of the indirect tax regime.
Since from its rollout, the GST law had to undergo around 500 amendments and still facing struggles due to its complexity.
The following are some of the important changes proposed by the parties in India which would be a make-over to the existing GST laws.
Bhartiya Janata Party
BJP, the ruling party, who introduced GST in 2017 said the BJP-led NDA will continue with fiscal prudence and lower tax rates if elected back to power.
While addressing the media, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the GST Council has cut tax rates on consumption items to 12 or 18 percent from the highest slab of 28 percent and lowering rate on cement is next on agenda.
Congress Party
Having referred the GST as ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ by the Congress President Rahul Gandhi in the past, the party now proposed 14 changes in the law if it comes to power.
The manifesto issued this week promises one slab for all goods and services (the uniform rate will be announced after it comes to power), while keeping foods, lifesaving drugs and some other essentials out of the ambit of GST — free-rated in contrast to the existing four slabs of GST.
The party also proposed to abolish E-Way Bill hints at re-introduction of check posts which were abolished after the GST rollout.
The manifesto hasn’t proposed the exact tax slab that it intends to bring in. According to Telangana Congress Twitter handle, the GST would be capped at 18%, however, speaking to Inc42, Congress spokesperson and member of its professional committee Salman Soz said, “It is simply the manifesto. The GST rate is something that will be decided once the party comes to power.”
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The election manifesto issued by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is for reduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Micro, Small, and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) to 5 % and removal of GST for job working units.
Ramakrishnan, Politburo Member of CPI (M), said that several MSMEs here were in a critical situation following the implementation of GST, he said that before the GST, the pump set manufacturers paid 5 % tax, there was no tax on job work, and there was no Excise Duty for units with an annual turnover of less than Rs. 1.5 crore.
There should not be a tax for job work, the rate should be reduced to 5 % for MSMEs, the GST filing process should be simplified, and priority should be given to MSMEs in government orders, he said.
