Business clocks GST boost on Day One; govt engages public, traders

India president N.S. Satish told PTI.

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PM Modi said tax cuts will accelerate India's growth.

(PT)

Blue Star managing director B. Thiagarajan termed the mood “upbeat”, citing enquiries. “Rough estimate is that growth compared with September last year will be around 20%. E-commerce players’ big sale begins today and the prices will be watched by many consumers before deciding to buy,” he told PTI.

The surge appeared to vindicate finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s 5 September prediction of a coming sales boom.

In an interview with Mint, the minister had said, “In all likelihood, from 22 September, people will go out there to buy. Absolutely, there’s likely to be a surge, like the post covid ‘revenge buy,”, the minister had said. With festive purchases getting a boost on account of the tax cuts, the government will be able to make up for the impact rate cut this financial year itself, she had said.

ITC Ltd chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri termed the rollout of next-generation GST reforms as a “historic moment” that would make products more affordable, boost consumption, and energize small and medium enterprises. In a LinkedIn post, Puri welcomed the prime minister's announcement of the reforms on the eve of Navratri, calling it “farsighted and pathbreaking” and a step that would accelerate India’s journey to ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a GST Savings Festival. On social media, he wrote that lower tax rates mean more savings for every household and greater ease for businesses, a day after he said the tax cuts will accelerate India’s growth.