The government has sought to allay fears of traders over "complexities" of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with finance minister Arun Jaitley saying that the proposed taxation system will end the cobweb of various taxes and "miseries" being faced by the trading community, according to an agency report.
Jaitley's assurance came when a delegation of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) led by its national secretary general Praveen Khandelwal called on the minister recently to express its reservations over the proposed GST and the its complexities.
The CAIT delegation said Jaitley also promised that the GST will end the cobweb of various taxes levied at different stages from production to distribution and will also bring an end to multiple authority taxation regime.
Jaitley also told the delegation that GST will give every opportunity to traders and other stakeholders to make a voluntary compliance which will widen the tax base.
The GST Bill is currently being scrutinised by a select committee of the Rajya Sabha. At a meeting of the select committee last week, the Congress demanded that alcohol, tobacco and electricity be included within the ambit of the GST. The party wants petroleum products to be under GST from the first year itself instead of a gradual inclusion over five years. It has also opposed the 1 per cent additional tax that states were allowed to levy — to be collected by the Centre and eventually devolved to them.
