Centre keen on implementing GST soon, says Minister

Dated 28th September, 2014

Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Union government wants to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as soon as possible.

Simplifying tax structure is one of the priorities of the government. A lot of groundwork has been going on and a series of consultations had taken place with the Chief Ministers and Finance Ministers of various States, she said at an interactive session with industry representatives, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Saturday. The Union government wants to eliminate thorns in the system in a studied manner to have ease of doing business in the country. The focus was on restoring confidence and faith in each other, she said.

Unwilling to get into the complexities of issues related to the rubber industry and the price of natural rubber, Ms. Sitharaman said the government was interested in providing benefit to all stakeholders. The issue of scarcity of land was a problem faced by all States, big or small, she said.

The possibility of establishing an electronics manufacturing hub at Palakkad could be examined, the Minister said in answer to a question. Setting up skill hubs at industrial corridors is another focus area of the government. She advocated an ancillary unit culture by which clusters could come up around major industrial units, giving scope for skill development and employment.

(This article was covered on September 28, 2014 in The Hindu)