GST 2.0 a 'system-cleaning reform', says Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the next-generation Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms introduced earlier this month have simplified the tax structure and resolved long-standing classification disputes that plagued the earlier GST regime.

- NARAYANAN V

FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA Sitharaman on Sunday said the next-generation Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms introduced earlier this month have simplified the tax structure and resolved long-standing classification disputes that plagued the earlier GST regime.

Speaking at 'Tax Reforms for Rising Bharat', a conclave of trade and industry associations organised by the Chennai Citizens' Forum, Sitharaman highlighted that disputes over GST classification had often ended up in arbitration, with courts in different states offering inconsistent interpretations. "Business people didn't really understand the exact bracket under which an item fell," she noted.