Mumbai, July 1 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that Maharashtra ranks first in the country in terms of collecting the highest amount of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

He added that it is also the state that receives the maximum benefits from the Central Government in return for this tax collection.

Due to this, Maharashtra is truly the capital of the country within the GST system, he added.

He also highlighted that Maharashtra is the first state in the country to set up an Artificial Intelligence-based system to curb tax evasion.

He was speaking on the occasion of the 9th Goods and Services Tax Day celebrations.

Terming the GST tax system, which established the framework of ‘One Nation, One Tax, and One Market’, as a historic reform, Fadnavis remarked that GST has transformed India into a society of honest indirect taxpayers.

He described GST as one of the largest financial reforms in the world, implemented by consolidating numerous indirect taxes across the country.

“For a long time, efforts were underway to build a consensus among states regarding GST, but these ideas remained limited to discussions. Previously, both the administration and traders faced heavy pressure due to multiple indirect tax filings and the challenges of stopping tax evasion, which hindered the growth of trade and industry. However, under the firm leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the historic decision to implement GST was successfully taken,” he said.

Fadnavis noted that states initially faced uncertainty regarding their revenues under the GST model.

However, the Central Government stepped in with a guarantee to compensate for any shortfalls in state revenues.

Furthermore, the Centre agreed to provide GST compensation with a 14 per cent growth rate for the subsequent five years, which is considered a critical milestone in this transition.

India did not stop there; to make this system more robust and efficient, the Central Government has launched the ‘GST 2.0’ phase.

He pointed out that the GST Council plays a vital role in this setup, as decisions cannot be finalised without mutual agreement between the Central and State Governments.

Consequently, it has emerged as a highly transparent system.

The GST Council has also lowered tax slabs for items connected to daily life, as well as for those essential to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Additionally, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) serves as a crucial backbone of this ecosystem.

GSTN stands out as one of the greatest examples of ‘digital innovation’ in the twenty-first century.

While the Constitution mandates that tax revenues must be deposited into the exchequer, GSTN provided the ultimate structural solution to facilitate this within the GST framework, he stated.

Since Maharashtra is the nation’s ‘Services Leader’, the inclusion of services under the GST regime has greatly benefited the state.

The Chief Minister added that Maharashtra received a GST return of Rs 1,87,000 crore in the previous financial year.

The introductory remarks were delivered by State GST Commissioner Ashish Sharma, and Chief Commissioner of Central GST Prachi Swaroop also shared her insights during the event.

During the ceremony, Chief Minister Fadnavis felicitated outstanding taxpayers and officials.

–IANS

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