GST Reforms: Rs 2 Lakh Cr Boost & Demand Surge

Kolkata, Sep 18 (PTI) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the latest round of Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms will pump around Rs 2 lakh crore into the economy, boosting demand across sectors.

Sitharaman said the “new generation GST reforms” were designed to cut rates, ease compliance, and eliminate ambiguities, benefiting the poor, middle class, farmers, MSMEs and several industries in West Bengal.

“The (GST) Council's decision to reduce rates was possible only because states came together in the spirit of cooperation. There is no donor-donee model in GST. If revenues fall, the Centre bears it equally, and after devolution, our share is even smaller,” she said at an event here.

The reforms will directly benefit sectors like handicrafts, garments, tea, jute and agro-products in Bengal, aiding festive sales, the finance minister said.

Products such as ‘Nakshi Kantha', Malda mangoes, Darjeeling tea, hosiery and jute bags would see lower taxes, she said.

The new rates, limited mainly to 5 per cent and 18 per cent, will be effective from September 22, the first day of ‘Navratri', which Sitharaman said was deliberately chosen to coincide with Durga Puja festivities.

“Durga Puja is Bengal's biggest festival. People make major purchases during this period. The timing ensures they benefit from reduced tax burden,” she said.

Explaining the reform trajectory, Sitharaman noted that India has moved from four GST slabs to largely two, but is “not yet” ready for a single rate. “Maybe sometime in the future,” she added.

She also said past revenue leakages due to misclassification and loopholes, such as differential tax treatment of popcorn varieties, had been plugged.

Calling GST “one of India's biggest reforms,” she said the changes would spur growth, especially in Bengal's small-scale and craft-based industries, while boosting consumption nationwide.