By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, NOV 19, 2016: WHILE addressing a large gathering of senior bureaucrats, Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an important milestone in the concept of cooperative federalism where the Centre and the States have come together to address an important national issue of complex indirect tax regime in the country; Successful implementation of GST can lead to this model of cooperative federalism being replicated in other spheres.

He said that the successful implementation of GST can lead to this model of cooperative federalism being replicated in other spheres. The Cabinet Secretary also highlighted that GST reform process would lead to a move from the regime of tax exemptions in various sectors of economy to a regime of seamless flow of credit and payment of tax.

The Cabinet Secretary was addressing the Seminar being organized by the GST Council in the national Capital today in which more than 400 senior officers including Secretaries of various Ministries/Departments of the Government of India participated. The Seminar was organized to sensitize these officers about the key features of the GST.

Speaking further on the occasion, Mr Sinha urged the senior officers to be fully prepared for roll-out of GST and to keep in touch with the various stakeholders to address their concerns for smooth implementation of GST.

The Seminar was also addressed by the Revenue Secretary Dr. Hasmukh Adhia. A presentation on the salient features of GST was made by the Chairman CBEC, Mr Najib Shah. The seminar concluded with a vibrant session of ‘Questions and Answers’ in which clarifications were given to many queries particularly pertaining to sectors of exports, transport, real estate, railways and airlines.