MOODY’S CUTS INDIA FORECAST

NEW DELHI: Financial analytics firm Moody’s on Thursday slashed its fiscal year 2019-20 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India to 5.8% from 6.2% earlier, saying the economy was experiencing a pronounced slowdown. commissioners of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab are members of the committee. The central government is represented by principal commissioner and joint secretaries, among others.

“The committee shall submit its first report within 15 days to the GST Council secretariat,” the order said. According to a government official familiar with the matter, the recommendations of the committee would be processed expeditiously so that it could be discussed at the next council meeting in November and implemented soon after. The decision to review rules and regulations pertaining to GST was felt after revenue collections dropped to a 19-month low last month, the official said, requesting anonymity.

Experts cited the economic slowdown as the reason for falling GST collections. The lower collections are mainly due to lower gross domestic product (GDP) growth numbers seen recently. As GST is a transaction tax, it is immediately impacted by any decline in economic activity, experts said. India’s annual GDP growth in the quarter ended June 2019 was 5%, the lowest in 25 quarters. It also marked the fifth consecutive quarter of slowing growth in the Indian economy.