PM Modi's nudge ushered in biggest GST reform in 8 years

'EK BAAR AAP GST DEKH LO'

- 

NEW DELHI: 'Ek baar aap GST dekh lo!' - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gentle nudge to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in December last year sparked the beginning of a mammoth exercise to overhaul the tangled goods and services tax regime. And the final outcome is a significantly simplified system with lower tax rates and easier compliance for businesses.

Sitharaman, who, along with her team, began work to identify anomalies in the present four-tier structure and compliance issues faced by businesses, was once again reminded by the Prime Minister when she was preparing the Budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. 'Aap GST ke upar kar rahi ho na kaam?' Modi had inquired.

Her discussion with the Prime Minister led Sitharaman to begin work on reviewing everything in GST - not just rates and tax slabs but how to make the regime more friendly for businesses, particularly small and medium businesses.

Sitharaman recalled the parallel works that happened - from overhauling the indirect tax regime to ensuring the backend software is ready to implement the massive change in the offing.