GST (Goods and Services Tax) Day - 1 July 2024

Tags: Important Days

To commemorate the anniversary of the implementation of the historic tax reform of the Goods and Services Tax, 1 July is observed as GST (Goods and Services Tax) Day.

An Overview of the News

• The first GST Day was celebrated on 1st July 2018 to mark the first anniversary of the new indirect tax regime i.e. Goods and Services Tax (GST).

• The 7th GST Day was celebrated on 1st July 2024, which marks the completion of seven years of the implementation of GST.

• The theme for 2024's GST Day is "Sashakt Vyapar Samagra Vikas,"translating to "Empowered Trade Overall Growth."

• GST was implemented on the intervening night of 30 June and 1 July 2017 in a function held in the Central Hall of Parliament.

• On 29 March 2017, the Goods and Services Tax Act was passed in the Parliament and the Act came into force on 1 July 2017.

• GST was enacted as the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016.

What is GST?

• GST is an indirect tax which has been implemented with the aim of making India a unified common market.

• It is a single tax levied on the supply of goods and services from the producer to the consumer.

• Under GST, on the one hand indirect taxes like Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duty, Service Tax, Countervailing Duty are included at the Central level.

• On the other hand, state-levied value addition tax, entertainment tax, octroi and entry tax, luxury tax, etc. are also included.

• It was introduced with the slogan 'One Nation One Tax'.

Tax Structure under GST

• Central GST (CGST) to cover excise duty, service tax etc.

• State GST (SGST) to cover VAT, luxury tax etc.

• Integrated GST (IGST) to cover inter-state trade.

• IGST itself is not a tax but a tax system to coordinate state and union taxes.

• It has a 4-tier tax structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% for all goods and services under the slab.