GST reforms have eased burden on people: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the sweeping reforms undertaken in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime have significantly reduced the tax burden on citizens, with most essential commodities now taxed at a much lower rate.

Addressing a joint conclave of trade and industry bodies in Chennai, themed ‘Tax Reforms for Rising Bharat’, the minister said 99 per cent of goods that were once in the 12 per cent slab have been brought down to 5 per cent. In some cases, she noted, rates were reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, and even from 12 per cent to nil.

“Over 350 items have seen GST rate cut — from groceries, packaged foods and household goods to handicrafts like Thanjavur dolls. GST touches every citizen from morning to night, and our effort has been to ease its impact,” Sitharaman said.

She released two publications at the event — GST 2.0: Fuelling India’s Growth and GST Reforms for Tamil Nadu’s Growth. The programme was attended by Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran, Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders’ Association president Vikramraja, IIT-Madras Director Kamakoti and business leaders.

Sitharaman said the reforms had also expanded the taxpayer base, with registrations rising from 65 lakh in 2017 to 1.51 crore today. “If GST was truly a ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ as some critics claimed, people would not have registered in such numbers,” she remarked, adding that 90 per cent of refund claims are now processed promptly.

She stressed that GST reforms were not limited to rate cuts, but were also about building trust, boosting demand and driving growth towards the government’s 2047 vision. Further rationalisation, particularly in agriculture, MSMEs, food and essential services, would continue, she said.