GST #1: What and Why?
GST. Goods and Service Tax. It replaced all indirect taxes imposed by state and center in 2017. Simply put, GST is a form of value-added tax (VAT). What does that mean? An example helps. Take a company that buys steel to make and sell pressure cookers. The idea of VAT is that each layer (mining, steel maker, pressure cooker maker) pays tax only on the value addition it did (mining, making steel, making pressure cooker), not for the entire chain of activities preceding it. This makes sense by considering the alternative to VAT – (1) if each layer pays tax for the entire chain, well, we’re collecting tax multiple times for the same lower-level activities, (2) which raises the cost and thus sale price of the product, (3) in turn, making Indian goods expensive and thus uncompetitive in the global market. Other advantages flow from a single tax system. If simplified enough, it makes compliance and comprehension easier. A corollary of that is greater transparency. Since taxes are