Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the average household now saves 4 per cent in monthly expense after the Goods and Sales Tax (GST) was rolled out.
“GST is a historic structural reform which integrated the country economically… The average household now saves 4 per cent in monthly expense after the rollout of GST. It resulted in Rs 1 lakh crore gains to consumers, removed inspector raj and helped transport sector,” she said in her Budget speech.
Presenting her second Budget amid a massive economic slowdown, Sitharaman acknowledged that the GST faced transitional challenges but has now added 60 lakh new tax payers in the last 2 years and said the tax regime would soon be simplified.
“A simplified return for GST is being introduced from April 2020,”she said.
On Friday, the government said the GST monthly collections have crossed the Rs 1.1 lakh crore mark for the second time since implementation of the new tax regime in 2017. It is also the sixth time that the monthly GST revenue has topped Rs 1 lakh crore.
Sitharaman said the Budget is for boosting income, purchasing power of people and insisted that the fundamentals of economy are strong, inflation well contained while banks cleaned up accumulated loans
“During 2014-19, the government has brought a paradigm shift in governance. This Budget aims to fulfill aspirations of people,” the finance minister said.
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