GST relief is early Diwali: PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the changes in the Goods and Services Tax (GST), made by the GST Council on Friday, were akin to an early Diwali for small and medium enterprises. Modi made the comment while addressing a public gathering in Dwarka on Saturday morning. The PM is on a two-day visit to Gujarat.

Incidentally, Saturday also marked the day when Modi took over as the Chief Minister of the state for the first time 16 years ago, in 2001. Recalling those days in his address after inaugurating the Palaj campus of IIT Gandhinagar later in the day, Modi said he didn’t know much about government then.

Modi remained the CM for over 12 years before being elected the PM in May 2014.

In view of the criticism that the burden of tax on various sectors has gone up due to GST, and that compliance was a tedious process, the GST Council on Friday lowered the tax on 27 items, besides making compliance easier for small and medium businesses. The measures were announced three months after the GST was implemented in the country.

Saying that some important decisions related to GST have been taken, Modi referred to the newspaper headlines, which …read more