NEW DELHI— Business owners and traders across India have welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of next-generation Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms, calling it a long-overdue step to simplify the tax system and stimulate trade.
Paramjit Singh Pamma, vice president of the Federation of Sadar Bazar Traders Association, said the reforms would offer much-needed relief to traders currently facing tax rates ranging from 5% to 28%.
“This has been a long-standing demand of the trading community, and we welcome this announcement by Prime Minister Modi. It will help traders immensely,” Pamma said.
In his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, Prime Minister Modi signaled sweeping changes to the GST system.
“This Diwali, I am going to celebrate a double Diwali for you. The countrymen are going to get a big gift — there will be a huge reduction in GST on common household items,” he announced.
Calling the move “the demand of the hour,” the Prime Minister emphasized the urgent need to review and rationalize GST rates to ease the tax burden on ordinary citizens.
Responding to Modi’s appeal for more purchases of locally made goods, Pamma said the GST rate cut would strengthen domestic trade and make local products more competitive against imports.
He added that India’s vast consumer market offers significant opportunities for homegrown businesses, though further reforms in local markets would be beneficial.
The announcement comes as India marks eight years since the GST’s rollout in 2017 — a landmark reform that unified the country’s indirect tax system and improved the ease of doing business, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
With the upcoming changes, traders and industry groups are hopeful for a simpler, fairer, and more growth-oriented GST framework. (Source: IANS)
