The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections slipped
for the second straight month to Rs 80,808 crore in November, down from
over Rs 83,000 crore in the previous month.
Industry body Assocham has cautioned the government against resorting
to a "knee-jerk" reaction to deal with slippage in GST collections, and
said those revenues would pick up once the glitches in the system are
addressed.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections slipped
for the second straight month to Rs 80,808 crore in November, down from
over Rs 83,000 crore in the previous month.
Asscoham president
Sandeep Jajodia said there is a need for an increased vigil on the
implementation of the GST and related problems.
"No knee-jerk reaction should be resorted to in the wake
of fall in tax revenue; after all, the collections should pick up once
the glitches are addressed," Jajodia told PTI.
On
the last full-fledged budget of the present government to be presented
on February 1, he said from India Inc’s point of view, the most
important ’Must Dos’ would include problems of banks in terms of their
NPAs which have also become a part of the ’twin balance sheet’ issue.
"It is only when banks are able to lend adequately again that the demand generation in the economy would be seen," Jajodia said.
The
other priority, he said, should be to take steps which revive the
private investment that has been on the back burner for the last few
years now.
Besides reducing the cost of finance, the private
sector should be actively engaged in sectors like the railways which are
dominated by the government, he said.
A lot more needs to be done
in terms of infrastructure boost that should translate into
opportunities for private sector, Jajodia stressed.
"The rural
distress is bound to be a focus area for the government and here again,
the private sector should be taken as partners, in areas such as
financial inclusion, fertiliser, seeds, farm implements, marketing and
processing of agri produce," he added.
09 Jan 2018, 05:14 AM