Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that she will personally monitor the implementation of recent GST rate cuts, news agency ANI reported, citing Times Now.
She also encouraged public participation and asked citizens to report businesses that fail to lower prices of goods whose GST rates have been reduced.
“I have had many people tell me from different parts of the country that it’s a welcome move, and in turn, I’ve told them if it is not getting passed on, you must communicate with me, and I shall be on the ground,” she said.
She said that several industry players have already committed to passing on the benefits, depicting strong industry support.
“Every citizen waking up in the morning has something or the other bought in the market which has a GST implication,” she said.
Sitharaman admitted the government may face a revenue loss of Rs 48,000 crore annually due to the rate cuts, but expressed hope that increased festive demand would help offset it.
“…better (demand) buoyancy will help us somewhat…be able to offset this (revenue loss),” she said.
Meanwhile, she also took a swipe at the Opposition, saying they indirectly conceded the reform’s success but lacked the grace to admit it outright. On Mamata Banerjee’s insurance GST suggestion, she emphasized collective effort by all states.
Sitharaman admitted an estimated Rs 48,000 crore annual revenue loss, as per static data models, due to simplified GST rates. At the same time, she expects buoyant demand during festivals will partly offset the revenue loss.
Asked to respond to the Opposition’s reaction to GST reforms, Sitharaman said the opposition conceded the reform’s significance, but not in as many words.
“In a way, the Opposition party is conceding that the reform has happened and happened in a big way. They should be gracious enough to say it rather than couch it in so many words. That’s a plain and simple expectation.”
