Change is the spice of life. The government too believes in the same and keeps rising up with new concepts and reformations. GST is the result of the same efforts. It indeed was tough for the people to assimilate it in the beginning but time proved to be a great teacher.
What exactly is it?
GST is an Indirect Tax which replaced many Indirect Taxes in India. The Goods and Service Tax Act was passed in the Parliament after a long healthy debate on 29th March 2017. The concept of GST came into effect on 1st July 2017.
In a nutshell, Goods And Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax levied at different rates on the supply of goods and services. With the advent of GST, many indirect tax laws that previously existed in India had to make their way out of the system.
It took so long to get there
The journey of GST commenced in the year 2000 when a committee was set up to deliberate on it and make laws. It took almost 17 years from then for the Law to completely evolve. In 2017, the GST Bill was finally passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. On 1st July 2017, the GST Law was implemented. This was completely new for the people and became a matter of consternation for small scale business owners.
Cons by the opposition
The launch of GST was executed at midnight on 1 July 2017 by the President of the Union, and the present Indian government. Though the session was attended by high-profile guests from the doyens of business and the stalwarts of the entertainment industry including the chairman of TATA group of industry, it was fully boycotted by the opposition due to the predicted problems concerning the middle-class Indians and the small businesses. The opposition came up with perfect rhyme and reason to defend their point on the implementation of GST.
Many small businessmen did face the difficulty of the new concept that made them rack their brain and destroyed its inertia. Many reforms in the concept kept coming up by the government to reduce the ill effect of the implementation.
Made easy by technology
Many companies created physical GST calculator and online GST calculator to ease the ill effects of the concept. A physical GST calculator and online GST calculator can be used to calculate taxes on various items without going through piles of formulas and mind-numbing paper works.
The GST calculator in India will calculate the amount of GST included in a gross price as well as the amount you should add to a net price. It figures out a price of product including Goods and Service Tax and helps you ascertain either net or gross price of your product based on a percentage-based GST tax rate.
First to be on the list
Japan-based electronics company Casio has expanded its product portfolio in India with the launch of two new GST calculators in India. It was the first company to launch the GST calculator which eased the complexity of GST calculation.
GST council and their members
GST Council is the governing body of GST having 33 members and is chaired by the Union Finance Minister. GST Council is an apex member committee to modify, reconcile or to procure any law or act or regulation pertaining to GST in India. The council is headed by the union finance minister with the assistance of the finance ministers of all the states of India.