Pranab Mukherjee promises improvement in tax system

NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said that the government is committed to improve the efficiency and equity of tax system by eliminating distortions in the tax structure and introducing moderate levels of taxation.

Inaugurating a two-day national seminar on Goods and Services Tax (GST) here, ukherjee said: “The measures being considered in respect of the DTC as well as the GST will create for India a modern and more efficient tax system in the very near future. However, implementation of some of these measures is not going to be an easy process.”

He said the Central Government, with a view to evolve a consensus, is willing to consider a phased approach for the introduction of GST, a step towards further consolidation of taxes on goods and services to achieve a genuine value added tax system at all levels in the country.

“In a departure from our earlier stand, as a transitory measure, we are also willing to accept a dual rate structure that could eventually lead to a “model GST regime”, he added.

“This ideal structure would be to adopt a single rate which is common for goods and services. A consensus is a must for implementation of the GST,” he said.

“The Centre has and will continue to take into account the concerns of the States and will work towards forging a common ground for introducing and implementing of this major tax reform,” he added.

He further said that the Central Government has launched a mission mode project for computerization of commercial tax administration of States and UTs so that GST can be rolled out in a systematic and planned way.

Mukherjee also expressed hope that the Empowered Group, set-up by the Central Government under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani to finalize the design of appropriate IT system for GST regime.

“I am sure that this Group will be able to give our country a state of the art IT platform which will contribute to making tax administration in the country more efficient,” he said. (ANI)