Gear Up for GST

The game changer, GST is here and businesses across sectors need to assess its far-reaching impact.

- Santosh Dalvi

The much awaited and one of the biggest tax reforms in India is on the verge of seeing the light of day—implementation of goods and services Tax (GST) will be a reality soon. GST implementation crossed one of the biggest hurdles on 3 august 2016, when Rajya sabha granted its approval on the impending GST Constitutional amendment Bill. The achievement of this milestone has raised an alert for various industries to respond to this reform.

However, there are several other hurdles to be crossed before GST is introduced as the law of the land. The passage of the GST Bill was the first step; there are other issues to be resolved, such as ratification of the Constitutional amendment Bill by at least 50% of the states, receipt of presidential assent on the amendment bill, formation of the GST council, rolling out of the GST law and rules, and readiness of the GST IT infrastructure. Though the government has a colossal mission to achieve, it is making significant headway at a swift pace to meet its commitment of rolling out GST on 1st april, 2017.

Impending changes