Celebrating eight years of GST: The road ahead

THE GOODS AND Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017 marks its eighth anniversary on July 1. Over the years, despite facing numerous challenges, GST has proven to be a resilient and transformative reform in India's indirect tax landscape. The consistent and robust monthly tax collections stand as testimony to its success.

- RAGHAVENDRA PAL SINGH

In May, the GST collection stood at ₹2.01 lakh crore, reflecting a 16.5% y-o-y growth. April recorded the highest ever monthly GST collection of ₹2.37 lakh crore, representing a 12.6% increase over the previous year. The corresponding surge in the generation of e-invoices and e-way bills underscores the increasing digitalisation of the country's indirect tax administration and the growing compliance among businesses.

India now ranks as the fourth-largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP. According to the World Bank's Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report, the country's economy is projected to grow steadily at 6.7% in both FY26 and FY27. As the economy expands, tax revenues are expected to rise proportionately.

However, as the economy scales up, the indirect tax administration must introspect and evolve to meet the dynamic needs of the business community. There is an urgent need to rationalise GST rates and simplify the legal and procedural framework. A starting point could be the streamlining of the registration process to enhance ease of doing business and ensure compliance. The integration of the recently developed GIS mapping tool by the surveyor general of India with the GSTN registration module can help mitigate the issue of fraudulent registrations.

Furthermore, leveraging widely used digital platforms such as WhatsApp for basic services like checking registration status, making tax payments, filing NIL returns, checking refund statuses, registering grievances, and providing feedback can significantly improve user experience. The Andhra Pradesh government has already initiated a pilot project with Meta to offer over 400 services via WhatsApp, serving as a model for broader implementation.