Union Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia today asserted that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would be implemented from July 1 this year.
He also added that the new taxation system would create lot of jobs for youth.
"The GST will certainly be implemented from July 1 and will help in creating lot of jobs for young generation," said Adhia at a Town Hall meeting with stakeholders, including tax assesses, traders and representatives of trade unions here.
Noting that the new tax system would be a game changer, he said that GST would help in converting the economic energy into real growth, as the country's economic potential was much higher.
"GST will lead to ease of doing business, allow compliance with its various provisions, bring in uniformity of different tax laws and rules and transfer of input tax credit," he said.
In response to a query on the four rates (5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent) at which the GST would be applied to diverse goods and services, Adhia hinted that they could be rationalised on justified considerations.
On the concerns of the food processing sector, he said a decision on the rates for foodgrains like wheat and rice would be taken in the next GST Council meeting on June 3.
Observing that the GST was a major customer-friendly indirect tax reform, Karnataka Agriculture Minister Byre Gowda said the government's intention was not to increase taxes but revenue through transparency, simplification and efficiency in tax administration.
"GST will also help in curbing tax evasion and lead to tax buoyancy," he said.
The inter-active session was jointly organised by the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax, Central Board of Excise & Customs and the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Karnataka as part of GST's Outreach Programme.
(With IANS inputs)
