GST rate rationalisation exercise is a landmark reform, says FICCI President

FICCI hails the landmark decisions taken at the 56th GST Council Meeting, marking a transformative step in India’s economic journey and ushering in next-generation GST reforms. The Government, under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister, with the tireless efforts of Union Finance Minister, State Finance Ministers, and officials of the GST Council and CBIC, has once again delivered reforms that strengthen the foundation of a Viksit Bharat, the industry body said. The rationalisation of GST rates into a simplified two-tier structure (18% and 5%), with a special de-merit rate for select goods, is a consumer focussed and growth-oriented reform that will bring transparency, predictability, and stability to India’s tax system. It will directly benefit households, labour-intensive industries, MSMEs, and critical sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and automobiles—reducing costs for consumers, providing relief to businesses, and boosting consumption-driven growth, it noted. Commenting on the GST rate rationalisation, Mr Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, President, FICCI said, “The GST rate rationalisation exercise carried out by the government and approved by the GST Council is a landmark reform and FICCI compliments the GST Council for the same. The simplification of the tax structure will offer multiple benefits. It will reduce classification disputes, improve compliance and address anomalies on account of inverted duty structure. While there are revenue implications of the announced measures as outlined by the government, the important point to note is the improvement in economic sentiments the reduction in rates will lead to and which in turn will boost consumption demand. This is a major positive for the economy both in terms of lifting growth and containing inflation.”