PM reviews preparations ahead of GST July rollout
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reviewed the preparations for the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime from July 1 and said it will be “a turning point” in the country’s economy.
Describing it as an “unprecedented” moment in the country’s history, Modi said the creation of the one-nation, one-market and one-tax system would greatly benefit the common man.
He took stock of various elements involved in the roll-out and directed officials that maximum attention be paid to cybersecurity in IT systems linked to the GST, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
The GST, for whose roll-out a law was enacted last year, will overhaul the indirect tax regime in the country.
The meeting, which lasted for over two-and-a-half hours, was attended by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and the topmost officials from the ministry of finance, the PMO, and the cabinet secretary.
Modi said that the implementation of GST from July 1 is the culmination of concerted efforts of all stakeholders, including political parties, trade and industry bodies, the statement said. He described the GST as a “turning point for the economy, unprecedented in history”, the PMO said.
During the course of the meeting, Modi specifically reviewed aspects of implementation such as IT readiness, HR readiness, training and sensitisation of officers, query handling mechanism, and monitoring, the statement said.
Modi was informed that GST systems such as IT infrastructure, training of officials, integration with banks, and enrolment of existing taxpayers will be in readiness well in time for the July 1 implementation date, it added.
Information security systems were also discussed in detail.
A Twitter handle — @askGst_GOI — has also been started for real-time answering of queries.
An all-India toll-free phone number, 1800-1200-232, has also been activated for this purpose.
MODI TOOK STOCK OF VARIOUS ELEMENTS INVOLVED IN ROLLOUT AND DIRECTED THAT MAXIMUM ATTENTION BE PAID TO TRAINING OF OFFICIALS, INTEGRATION WITH BANKS AND IT INFRASTRUCTURE