Buy & sell ‘swadeshi’, PM Modi writes to citizens as GST 2.0 kicks in

As the rationalised Goods and Services Tax regime commenced across the country on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi penned an open letter to citizens asking them to buy and sell local products this festive season and power the national goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

A day after he addressed the nation on GST cuts, the PM today said the new regime would yield Rs 2.5 lakh crore as annual savings in the hands of the people, reiterating that the 2017 “One nation, one tax” reform ushered by the government unified the country economically. He sought support of citizens to boost self-reliance.

“Our nation’s GST journey, which began in 2017, was a turning point in freeing our citizens and businesses from the web of multiple taxes…. The GST Council, with the active participation of both Centre and states, took many pro-people decisions. Now, these new reforms take us further, simplifying the system, reducing rates and putting more savings in the hands of people," he said.

Modi said small industries, shopkeepers, traders, entrepreneurs and MSMEs would all see greater ease of doing business, ease of compliance, lower taxes, lower prices and simpler rules, which would mean better sales, less compliance burden and growth of opportunities, especially in the MSME sector.

The PM said the collective national goal was Viksit Bharat by 2047 and to achieve it, “walking on the path of ‘aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) was imperative”. “These reforms strengthen our local manufacturing base. Let us resolve to support products that are made in India. This means buying ‘swadeshi’ products that have the sweat and toil of an Indian involved in their making, irrespective of the brand or the company that makes them," he wrote.

The reformed GST regime has two slabs of 5 and 18 per cent, compared to earlier four slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent.

The PM said daily essentials such as food, medicines, soap, toothpaste, insurance and several other items would now either be tax-free or taxed at 5 per cent, and that goods that were earlier taxed at 12 per cent had almost entirely shifted to 5 per cent. “It is heartening to see various shopkeepers and traders putting up boards indicating pre-reform and post-reform changes," he said.

Modi said lifting of 25 crore people above the poverty line had led to a new aspirational neo-middle class. “We have also strengthened the hands of our middle class with the massive income tax cuts, which ensure zero tax up to annual income of Rs 12 lakh. Your household expenses will reduce and it will be easier to fulfil aspirations such as building a home, purchasing a vehicle or other goods, eating out or planning a family vacation," the PM said. He asked citizens to fully participate in the "GST savings festival" even as he wished everyone on the first day of Navratri.