India’s most ambitious indirect tax reform measure, which gave birth to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, is a testimony to the concept of cooperative federalism: it united all the States — even those with divergent political and economic inclinations — under the ‘one nation, one tax’ banner.

The key catalyst of this path-breaking tax regime was the GST Council, which brought all the stakeholders on board in that spirit of cooperative federalism. Balancing national fiscal aspirations with legitimate considerations of regional autonomy, the GST Council, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (pictured) as its Chairman, deftly handled Centre-State equations on tax policies, and fashioned a consensus among the stakeholders even on contentious issues.

Strikingly, despite their varying political instincts, GST Council members resolved their differences on tax matters unanimously, without a vote. With its stellar efforts, the GST Council helped boost the indirect tax collection base and revenue without stoking runaway inflation.

Published On : 15-03-2019

Source : The Hindu BusinessLine