AP Chambers welcomes two-slab GST system, says it reduces compliance burden

The Hindu

a day ago

The AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) has welcomed the Central government's proposal to move towards a two-slab GST structure, saying that it will be a significant step towards simplification, transparency, and efficiency in the taxation system.
'It is a much-needed reform that promises to reduce compliance burden and bring clarity to the tax regime,' AP Chambers president Potluri Bhaskara Rao said in a press release.
Mr. Bhaskara Rao said that the AP Chambers had been requesting the Centre to rationalise the GST slabs and bring down the slab rates for key sectors, insisting that a simplified GST with fewer rate slabs would not only ease tax compliance for businesses, especially the MSMEs, but also reduce classification disputes, promote consistency, lower the operational costs, and enhance revenue predictability.
'The reform comes at a crucial time for the MSME sector, which has been under considerable distress due to rising input costs, regulatory challenges, and market vagaries,' he said, adding that the new tax system provided a big relief to the MSMEs, enabling them to recover and grow.
Besides, Mr. Bhaskara Rao urged the Central government to place critical sectors such as food processing, textiles, handicrafts, and rural industries under the lower 5% GST slab to support employment, affordability, and rural development.
A simplified GST structure, combined with sector-sensitive taxation, could pave the way for a more balanced and robust economy, he observed.
'The AP Chambers opines that the new GST structure will not only simplify taxation but also ensure that India's small businesses, which are the engines of job creation, are empowered and strengthened for the future,' Mr. Bhaskara Rao said.