a temporary economic slowdown after the implementation of the Goods
and Services Tax (GST) in July 2017, India is on the threshold of
sustainable growth, industry chamber Assocham said in its latest report.
In
its study, titled: "Ideate, Innovate, Implement: the apex industry
body said: "While there has been a temporary slowdown after GST
implementation (in July 2017), a consensus view is that India is poised
for a sustainable growth in the near future."
It said that faster
GST implementation, removal of check gates between states that have
smoothened inter-state movements and central sales tax (CST) no longer
being a cost will help improve the situation. The report maintained that
GST will have a significant impact on all aspects of the businesses
operating in the country including - supply chain, logistics, cash flows
and transactions.
The study said that GST will have an impact on
prices agreed for contracts entered under the pre-GST regime and
proposed to be executed either partly or completely under the post-GST
regime.
"Also, the introduction of GST should entail a reduction in overall process on account of reduced tax costs, the report said.
The
Assocham-EY report also suggested central and state governments need to
work in tandem by executing investor-friendly policies to further
strengthen investment prospects.
"The government is continuously
focusing on improving the business environment in the country, but there
is still significant scope to attract further investments," it added.
The
study also suggested making the country more investor-friendly by
introducing speedy judicial reforms to ward off investors’ worries,
considering India’s legal framework.
While it welcomed the biggest
changes in GST taxes, the apex industry body Assocham said that the
decision of the GST council would lead to a pickup in consumer demand
and significantly revive business sentiment.
Assocham General Secretary D S Rawat told The Times of India that
"The increase in the composition scheme threshold would make life much
easier for the small business entities. The impact of these changes
would be positively felt in the next few months."
16 Nov 2017, 01:14 PM