Nirmala Sitharaman / GST rate will be reduced further, Finance Minister said this in response to a question

Nirmala Sitharaman: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday indicated that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates will be reduced further. She informed that the process of rationalizing the tax rates and slabs of GST has reached the final stage. Under this, efforts are being made to simplify the tax system and reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Decline in GST rates

Sitharaman said that the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR), which was 15.8 per cent on July 1, 2017 at the time of introduction of GST, has come down to 11.4 per cent in 2023. She also said that this rate is likely to come down even further, which will provide relief to consumers and traders.

The final decision will be taken after the review of the Group of Ministers

The GST Council constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) in September 2021, which was entrusted with the task of rationalizing GST rates and suggesting changes in the slabs. The Finance Minister said that these groups have done commendable work, but they will be thoroughly reviewed before taking a final decision.

She said, "I have undertaken to thoroughly review the work of each group and after that I will present it before the council. After this a final decision will be taken on what changes can be made." This statement shows that the government is committed to making the GST system more simple and effective.

Final decision may be taken in the next council meeting

Sitharaman said that some more reforms are needed and this subject will be placed in the next GST Council meeting. She said, "We are close to taking decisions on some important topics like reduction in tax rates, rationalization of the number of slabs, etc." This indicates that new relief for taxpayers may be announced soon.

Finance Minister's comment on the stock market

Responding to a question about the fluctuations in the stock market, Sitharaman said that commenting on this would be like asking whether the world will become calm, wars will end, or the Red Sea will become completely safe.

He further said that the government is committed to increasing the participation of retail investors in public sector banks. This statement reflects the government's economic reform plans and its commitment to investors.

Conclusion

It is clear from the Finance Minister's statement that the government is taking concrete steps to make the GST system more simple and effective. While the possible reduction in GST rates will provide relief to consumers, businesses will also get ease in tax compliance. A final decision on this is likely to be taken in the upcoming GST Council meeting.