Best of tax regime yet to come: Jaitley

Goyal sees mop-up hitting Rs 13L-cr this fiscal, hints at rationalising rates

NEW DELHI: Stressing that India has been able to implement the major indirect tax reform GST in a least disruptive manner, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said best of the new regime in terms of contribution to the society was yet to come. Observing that countries implementing GST had witnessed major disruption, Jaitley said he too had felt that it would cause disruption in the Indian economy. “I myself used to use the word disruptive when it came to major reform like GST because it takes time to settle down. But after one year of experience I'm not too sure whether I can use the word disruptive for GST reform," he said. “The smooth manner in which the changeover has taken place is almost unprecedented anywhere in the world ... I'm sure we have seen the first year where we have seen effective gains this is only the short-term or at best medium term of GST… that the best of GST in terms of its contribution to society is yet to come.” The GST, the minister said, would have a long-term impact on the country's GDP growth, ease of doing business, expansion of trade and industry, make in India initiative, besides promoting honest business practices. “As the tax collection goes up, the capacity to rationalise the slabs, the capacity to rationalise the rates, also will certainly increase, he added.

The government will "very soon" come out with a definition for shell companies, Union Minister PP Chaudhary said on Sunday amid the crackdown on entities indulging in financial irregularities.

Obscure ownership, excessive leveraging and disproportionate investment in shares of other companies are among the possible criteria being looked at for defining shell entities.

While a multi-pronged action plan is being implemented in the fight against