Implementation of GST to link SMEs to national value chain: Shaktikanta Das

New Delhi, Sep 8 (KNN) Implementation of goods and services tax (GST) will make small and medium enterprises (SMEs) a part of national value chain, said Shaktikanta  Das, Economic Affairs Secretary.

"The government is aware that many more reforms need to be taken. After implementation of GST, it should be easier for SMEs to become part of entire national value chain, he said at The Economist India Summit in New Delhi.

He further said that the next challenge would be how to make SMEs part of global value chain.

Considered as the biggest tax reform in India, GST will include most indirect taxes such as excise duty, service tax and VAT. The Constitutional Amendment Bill for GST was passed by Parliament on August 8.

The government is planning to roll out the indirect tax regime from April 1, 2017. While the Centre has to draft CGST and IGST laws, the states will have to come up with an SGST law.

Das, who attended the G20 summit in China earlier this week, said, "I can tell you with confidence that the kind of reforms which India has undertaken has been very widely appreciated by G20 countries."

The secretary, however, warned against any room for complacency.

"There are a number of measures which have been taken, please look at the huge amount of reforms. And GST, which had been pending for the last several years, has been passed by Parliament.

The secretary noted that by and large the overall thrust of the government policy is minimum government, maximum governance. "In a large number of areas, the government has reduced interventions," Das claimed.

On FDI liberalisation, Das said the kind of steps the government has taken in the last one year has basically put everything on automatic route, except some sectors that are on the negative list. (KNN Bureau)