Sixth GST Day with vision GST@6 सरलीकृत कर, समग्र विकास celebrated at New Delhi

Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presides over as Chief Guest on the completion of 6 years of the GST 

Finance Minister: GST is embroidery that stitches diversity of Indian markets into the fabric of economic progress

GST Council meetings shining examples of cooperative federalism: Finance Minister 

Finance Minister calls taxpayers co-equal and main force driving the GST success story

CBIC honours 50,000 taxpayers and officers contributing to the GST success story

24 officers awarded with commendation certificate on GST Day, 2023

The 6th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Day was celebrated here today with the vision GST@6 सरलीकृत कर, समग्र विकास with Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presiding over as the Chief Guest and Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary as the Guest of Honour. Senior officials from Ministry of Finance, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and other government departments were present. 

Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, while addressing at GST Day 2023, said, “GST is the embroidery that stitches the diversity of Indian markets into the fabric of economic progress. The GST Council meetings have become the shining examples of cooperative federalism, where the Centre and States have deliberated, discussed, and decided on various complex issues to make GST more responsive and nuanced. Even today, and certainly in the future, the success of GST is predicated on the feedback loop between the taxpayer and the department.” 

The Finance Minister recalled the fragmented state of Indirect Tax System in India where every state was effectively a distinct market. Multiple Tax Rates laws and procedures, cascading of taxes and check posts at every inter-state border were all burdens on taxpayer as well as common man. Smt. Sitharaman particularly emphasised the positive impact of GST on consumers by reducing their tax burden and recalled that on many common use items, tax incidence under GST has become lower as compared to Pre GST rates such as Tea, Milk Powder, Hair Oil, Toothpaste soap etc. Even after implementation of GST, rates have been pruned on common use items to reduce the burden on consumers, the Finance Minister said. These include goods such as common household items like kitchenware, furniture, electrical equipments, bathroom & toilet fittings, refrigerators, TV, certain food items etc. Smt. Sitharaman also highlighted the sensitivity of GST Council in reducing rates even post introduction of GST. 

The Finance Minister also highlighted benefits to MSME under GST by easing their compliance burden through measures like composition scheme, QRMP (quarterly return with monthly payment, optional annual return etc). The centre piece of the GST-Facilitation Revolution has been technology. GST is technology-enabled and technology-driven. GST has also shown an impressive and steady increase in revenue collection over the last six years due to higher economic activity and enhanced compliance. Appreciating efforts of CBIC officers, she said numerous officers across India have gone into making the grand vision of the GST project a reality. Officers have faced innumerable challenges during the journey: the teething problems, especially with regard to technology, communicating & resolving the queries of the taxpayers, and the CoVID pandemic, among many other things.

The trade associations have also played a vital role as well in the formulation and implementation of GST. Not only were they proactive in bringing their issues to the forefront, they also helped in disseminating knowledge of GST through seminars and workshops. This consultative and collaborative approach is instrumental in making responsive and responsible policymaking.

Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary highlighted the salient features of GST and in particular removal of multiple taxes and implementation of the concept of One Nation One Tax. MoS was appreciative of the launch of performance management system Pratidin and other technological initiatives of the department.

Revenue Secretary Shri Sanjay Malhotra complimented the officers who were awarded the Commendation certificate. He congratulated the Officers for receiving commendation certificate on the occasion of GST Day for exemplary service. He noted that CBIC is responsive to suggestions made by trade and would work on it to provide solutions. He exhorted the department to focus on three Ts namely Taxpayers, Technology and Team Work.

Chairman CBIC Shri Vivek Johri in his welcome address highlighted the benefits of GST at the level of macro and micro economy. At the macro level he highlighted gains like better compliance, more market integration through enhanced internal trade flows. At micro level he highlighted the benefits to the taxpayers like easier processes, smooth flow of Input Tax Credit and fast refund. He strongly urged that given the benefits of GST, those businesses who were outside the GST should become part of it. He indicated that CBIC will also launch an outreach programme top inform regarding benefits of GST to trade at large.

The occasion saw presentations by four officers from different CGST zones across the country who presented their experiences about working in GST.

Ms. Jenny Khawlneihnieng, Superintendent from CGST & Customs Guwahati Zone touched upon how technological advances in GST have simplified compliance by taxpayers even in remote areas of North East. 

Mr. K. Samskar, Inspector from CGST Bengaluru Zone illustrated the use of Digital tools by field officers to ensure GST compliance like ITC Verification, Eway Bill verification and generation of actionable information by ADVAIT.

Mr. Sudipta Chakraborty, Superintendent, CGST Kolkata Zone, reminisced his experiences in pre-GST times with innumerable files and records which has transitioned to a paperless digital office in GST regime enabling CBIC to deliver GST services such as refunds to ensure liquidity even in COVID lockdown. 

Ms. Shreya Tulsiyan, Inspector, CGST Kolkata Zone, illustrated how the Digital Framework of GST has enabled officers to give taxpayer services to thousands of taxpayers in a prioritised and time bound manner. She highlighted how the new GST system takes us to closer to our goal of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat Sampann Bharat.

Union Finance Minister inaugurated “प्रतिदिन”, a web based daily performance management system in CBIC to monitor important tasks at the field level for better monitoring of work at the field level as well as to further motivate officers to perform better. Shri Navneet Goel, Principal Chief Commissioner, CGST Bhopal, gave a presentation showcasing features of “प्रतिदिन” which mainly covered monitoring of important tasks; daily data feeding of the performance; allowing timely interventions by supervisory officers based on analytical reports.

A film on “GST Leveraging Technology for Nation Building” was showcased during the event. The film explores how technology has helped to create a bridge between government and taxpayer, revolutionized GST compliances by bringing all compliances online and use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to target tax evaders.

Another video on benefits of GST to the taxpayers especially MSME, consumers as well as economy. 

To commemorate the 6 Years of GST, a song describing positive impact of GST on various stakeholders including citizens was composed & sung by the departmental officers. The song is written by Shri Aslam Hassan Additional Commissioner, CGST Ranchi Zone and Shri Yogendra Garg, Chief Commissioner, CGST & Customs Guwahati Zone. The singing choir included housekeeping staff to officers right upto Joint Commissioner of CGST & Customs Guwahati Zone.

 

Finance Minister felicitated 24 officers for their continued devotion and commitment to duty on GST Day 2023. List of officers is enclosed as Annexure-A.

 

On the occasion of the 6th GST Day, CBIC, also recognised the contribution of all the compliant taxpayers to nation building. 50,000 (Fifty Thousand) compliant taxpayers have been identified representing all Industry sectors of the economy for awarding commendation certificates. The MSME sector, which is the growth engine of the Economy and the largest contributor to job creation finds representation in the awards with more than 70% from Small, 19% from Medium and 4% from micro enterprises. These taxpayers have demonstrated compliance in prompt filing of GST Returns and payment of their GST liabilities during the financial year 2022-23. Along with significantly improved collection of GST revenue, there has been clear improvement in the compliance behavior, which has been a result of various measures taken by the Indirect Tax administration to nudge taxpayers to file their returns timely, making compliance easier and smoother; strict enforcement action against errant taxpayers identified by data analytics and artificial intelligence. The States/UTs wise distribution of selected taxpayers is given as Annexure-B.

Shri Shashank Priya, Member CBIC, delivered the vote of thanks and acknowledged the partnership with taxpayers and efforts of everyone in making GST at 6 years a successful event.

Annexure-A

Sr. no.	Name of the officers (Sh./ Smt/Ms.)
1	Priya Ranjan Srivastava, Additional Commissioner, Lucknow Zone
2	Dr. Sudhanshu Rai, Additional Commissioner, Delhi Zone
3	Amit Samdariya, Deputy Director, GST Policy CBIC
4	Smita Roy, Deputy Director, TRU-II, CBIC
5	Kriti Tiwari, Deputy Director, DGGI, Regional Unit, Indore
6	Paritosh Vineet Vyas, Deputy Commissioner, Chennai Zone
7	Ajinkya Hari Katkar, Deputy Commissioner, Mumbai Zone
8	Anshika Agarwal, Deputy Director, DGGI Hqrs, Delhi
9	Dhruv, Deputy Director, DG System, Delhi
10	Dr. Geetu Badoliya, Deputy Commissioner, Meerut Zone
11	Ankit Gahlot, Deputy Director, DGGI Guwahati
12	Vimal Kumar Pantk, Additional Assistant Director, DG Audit, Delhi
13	Umesh Talwar, Superintendent, NACIN, Faridabad
14	Suresh S., Superintendent, Kochi Zone
15	Rejith S. Superintendent,  Kochi Zone
16	Dinesh Balasaheb More, Superintendent, Pune Zone
17	Nirmal Pradhan, Superintendent, Kolkata Zone
18	Daniel Arputharaj D., Administrative Officer, Chennai Zone
19	Deepak Kumar, Inspector, DGTS Hqrs. Delhi
20	Nitik Goyal, Inspector, DGTS Hqrs. Delhi
21	Milan Tiwari, Inspector, Chennai Zone
22	Vinay Kumar, Inspector, DGHRD, I&W
23	Bikram Kumar Kesri, Executive Assistant, DGGI Hqrs.
24	Gokul Chand Sharma, Tax Assistant, Delhi Zone

Annexure-B

State	No. of GSTINs	Centre Jurisdiction	State Jurisdiction
Jammu And Kashmir	297	33	264
Himachal Pradesh	432	110	322
Punjab	1034	299	735
Chandigarh	147	42	105
Uttarakhand	638	196	442
Haryana	2829	729	2100
Delhi	3404	749	2655
Rajasthan	2141	567	1574
Uttar Pradesh	2678	583	2095
Bihar	475	106	369
Sikkim	39	5	34
Arunachal Pradesh	31	8	23
Nagaland	45	8	37
Manipur	30	9	21
Mizoram	22	6	16
Tripura	36	9	27
Meghalaya	74	18	56
Assam	653	149	504
West Bengal	1706	357	1349
Jharkhand	700	148	552
Odisha	786	137	649
Chattisgarh	533	104	429
Madhya Pradesh	1434	379	1055
Gujarat	5865	1566	4299
Daman & Diu	0	0	0
Dadra & Nagar Haveli	238	92	146
Maharashtra	9701	2180	7521
Karnataka	5738	1584	4154
Goa	225	47	178
Lakshwadeep	0	0	0
Kerala	661	158	503
Tamil Nadu	4608	1104	3504
Puducherry	62	10	52
Andaman & Nicobar Islands	18	6	12
Telangana	2022	465	1557
Andhra Pradesh	688	168	520
Ladakh	10	0	10
Total	50,000	12,131	37,869

 

One Nation One Tax: GST integration strengthened by digital reforms, compliance incentives, and targeted taxpayer outreach. The press release outlines GST's consolidation of internal markets under the One Nation One Tax principle, the GST Council's cooperative federal role, and reduced tax incidence on many consumer goods. It highlights measures easing MSME compliance (composition scheme, QRMP, optional annual return), the centrality of technology-digital compliance, data analytics and AI/ML-and the launch of CBIC's performance platform ' .' It records recognition of officers and 50,000 compliant taxpayers and describes outreach and enforcement calibrated to improve voluntary compliance.