New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday recalled how complicated India’s tax system was before 2014, citing a case where a French company found it cheaper to send goods from Bengaluru to Hyderabad via Europe instead of transporting them directly between the two state capital cities
PM Modi said this bizarre situation was the result of a maze of taxes, tolls and checkpoints that made domestic trade costly and time-consuming.
“Friends, this was the situation at that time due to the complexities of taxes and tolls. Millions of companies and crores of citizens suffered daily because of this system,” the Prime Minister said in his address to the nation ahead of the beginning of the GST 2.0 reforms on Monday.
“The extra costs of moving goods from one city to another were ultimately borne by poor families and common customers,” he added.
PM Modi stressed that when his government came to power in 2014, simplifying India’s tax regime became a top priority.
“We made GST a priority in the public and national interest. We held discussions with all stakeholders, addressed every doubt of the states, and found solutions to every concern. By bringing all states together, India’s biggest tax reform became possible,” he said.
The Prime Minister underlined that the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) freed India from dozens of overlapping taxes and created a uniform system across the country.
Calling it the realisation of the dream of “One Nation, One Tax”, he said GST transformed the business environment and boosted India’s logistics efficiency.
“Earlier, the country was trapped in a web of taxes. Today, because of GST, we have a unified market. Goods can move freely across states, industries are saving costs, and citizens are benefiting through lower prices. This is the strength of ‘One Nation, One Market’,” PM Modi said.
(IANS)
