A month has gone by since the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax in India. With the ‘one nation one tax’ agenda, GST was implemented to supersede the multiple taxes levied by the centre and state and to bring in a uniform taxation policy.
Where many are finding it complicated to cope up with, others remain quite unaffected by the reform.
We at Pune365 decided to check the ground reality behind the much-debated GST and its effect on people, be it at work or in their lives..
Jagdeep Singh, Corporate Solutions and Employee Benefit Executive at ICICI prudential:
Professionally our products are expensive now. Life insurance premium increases for term and traditional plans.But the market is in good shape and the consumers are fine with the revised price of the commodities. Personally, I don’t feel much of a difference. We still shop every weekend; the malls are still crowded and my wife still burns a hole in my pocket. However, I have been paying more tax now and my CA is going places.
Tarveen Kaur, a homemaker:
When GST was imposed a month back, I was spending consciously and taking bills and thoroughly planning on how to avoid excessive spending. I visited the local markets more than the malls to save money. I still do the same and have also started using Indian products when it comes to personal care, clothing etc. But everything is back to normal now and we have come to terms with the prevailing market prices. However, I do think the price of gold jewellery have increased considerably which is unfortunate.
Pratik Jainabadkar, Chartered Accountant:
GST is purporting to bring in the ‘one nation one tax’ system, but in the last one month it has created more confusion among traders rather than making it easier. Being a Chartered Accountant, I think it will at least take two-three months to normalise operations. Personally speaking, the increased taxes, especially on the services side has surely dug a deep hole in my pocket. Let’s hope that in the coming months the situation will improve and the long-term effect of GST will be seen.
Sayali Sharma, Finance Associate:
Since people are still learning about GST and its impact on their pockets, the financial market is down as of now. The complexities due to the different taxation slabs have made it difficult for them. We also have to go through the entire policy and learn about the regular updates before we can work on the finances of our clients. I think it has made a difference to me, since eating out and buying luxury brands have become quite expensive.
Niranjan Ghosh, Restaurant Owner:
GST has made very little difference for us. The overall prices of the products on the menu have increased because of the tax imposed. The cost of vegetables, spices, unbranded paneer, cereals and other related products that we use in our restaurant have not changed. But for stuff like cornflour, processed chicken and food, preserved vegetables etc have invariably increased. But it has not affected the sales greatly because the prices have increased across the industry.
Neel Bhargava, Law Graduate:
As of now, it has caused a little extra burden on my personal budget. But then I feel that in the long run it will yield good results. When 81 per cent of the products have become cheap, it does help the common man. Undoubtedly, it will give a major boost to the country’s economy benefiting the common man eventually. Doing business would automatically get easier because of the ‘one nation one tax’ policy.
#All views expressed in this article are the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them
Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
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