Include Bibliography

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), implemented from 1 July 2017, has been hailed as the most important tax reform in India since independence. The objective of GST is to provide a simple tax regime to develop a common market for India, and it is expected to bring multiple benefits to the economy. These will include, among others, increased tax collections; spur economic growth and increase GDP growth; reduce the costs of manufactured goods and services; promote exports, making the domestic market more competitive; promote employment, and foster the growth of the formal economy and prevent the generation of black money. Goods and Services Tax in India provides an analytical understanding of GST implementation in the country, while also commenting on the direction of reform and challenges that lie ahead. Combining technical analysis with a simple narrative, the author explains the various facets of the GST and the rationale for its introduction in India. Arguing that the revised GST today is a far better version, the book reflects on the possibilities to improve the system and achieve the objectives of simplicity, transparency and neutrality in the implementation of GST, and discusses what it is that hinders the development of a common market, and the idea of ‘one nation, one tax’. Informative and insightful, this book will be valuable to students and scholars of economics, and those interested in key tax reform in India.