Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, July 17: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that even though there are some initial reservations among certain sections of trading community during the transition phase following GST rollout, the consumers across India have, by and large, unanimously hailed the “One Nation, One Tax” GST reform introduced by the Modi Government. This is a common input received from different States that he travelled in recent weeks, he said.
Dr Jitendra Singh made these observations when the National President of Institute of Cost Accountants of India” (ICAI), Manas Kumar Thakur met Dr Jitendra Singh and informed him that during the 15 days interval from 1st July to 15th July, following the GST rollout, the ICAI had held as many as 450 awareness programmes / workshops across the country, covering most of the States and Union Territories. These programmes involved the members of the ICAI, local traders, business entrepreneurs and MSME groups, he added.
Manas Thakur also informed the Minister that the ICAI had opened a website (http://www.icmai.in) which contained a Helpdesk page that could be accessed by anybody from anywhere. He disclosed that, on an average, there are at least 50 to 60 important queries being received online, the response to which was being provided in a time-bound manner within 24 hours, with the help of 60 experts spread all over the country.
Dr Jitendra Singh appreciated the services rendered by ICAI and other similar organizations which had a stake in the GST implementation. He also suggested that like the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the Institute of Cost Accountants of India could also introduce specialized courses for its members to deal with the new nuances related to the GST.
From his experience of having travelled to different States since the GST roll-out on the midnight of June 30th and July 1st, Dr Jitendra Singh said, by and large, the GST has been welcomed by all sections of society, particularly the middle and lower classes. Interestingly, he said, even if there are some initial reservations among certain sections of trading community during the transition phase, the consumer community has unanimously hailed the “One Nation, One Tax” reform introduced by the Modi Government.
There are certain initial issues, said Dr Jitendra Singh, which are more of transitory nature and would be overcome in course of time through the mass awareness exercise launched by the Government and other agencies.
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