Goods and Services Tax: Is it in Accordance with the Federal Structure or Unitary Feature of the Constitution

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse the multi-faceted indirect form of comprehensive tax structure which was enacted with the view to subsume all those taxes that were previously levied on the sale of goods or provision of services by either Central or State Government. Having faced 17 years of political setbacks, heavy debates, discussions and missing several deadlines, India’s biggest tax structure reform in India - the Goods and Services Tax was launched on July 1, 2017. Many number of countries around the globe have already implemented Goods and Services Tax in their government structure. For instance, the government of Canada saw the introduction of the tax in the year 1991, replacing the Manufacture’s Sales Tax. Change of Federal Wholesome Tax with GST in 2000 was witnessed by Australia. Singapore saw the implementation of the reform in 1994, while New Zealand did so in 1986. GST in Malaysia was introduced in 2015, and subsequently, India jumped on the bandwagon to provide benefits to the consumers, the industries, and the government. Having enforced, this paper tries to analyse whether the Goods and Services Tax’s introduction is in accordance with the Federal structure or the Unitary feature of the Constitution. Several digging up have been taken on the Government by the opposition, demonstrating the multiple slabs on which the tax is imposed in accordance with the nature of goods and type of services, and also the opposition promised for a single slab GST as a mark of proposition if elected in power. Having enforced, this paper tries to analyse whether the Goods and Services Tax’s introduction is in accordance with the Federal structure or the Unitary feature of the Constitution.