Budget 2020: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam on Saturday paid homage to late Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as she tabled the Union Budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal. Crediting Jaitley for the passage and successful implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, Sitharaman termed the law as the most historic economic reform that integrated the country and benefited the common people.
“Its chief architect is not with us today. I pay homage to the visionary leader Arun Jaitley,” Sitharam said, referring to Jaitley. Terming him the architect of the new tax reform, Sitharam also quoted the late BJP stalwart. “At the time of rollout of the GST, he had said: “It will be an India where the Centre and states will work together towards to common goal of shared prosperity. The unanimity of the constitutional amendment and the consensus of the GST Council highlights that India can rise above narrow politics for the nation’s interest. With the GST, neither the state nor the Centre loses its sovereignty”,” she said.
Sitharaman said that the GST has resulted in efficiency gains in the transport and logistics sector, inspector raj has vanished, it has benefitted MSME. Consumers have got an annual benefit of Rs 1 lakh crore rupees through GST.
“During the maturing od GST, it faced some challenges. GST Council has been proactive in resolving issues during the transition. 40 crore returns have beem file, 800 crore invoices uploaded, 105 crore e-way bills generated, simplified new return being introduced from April 1, 2020,” she said.
Sitharaman is presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 in the Parliament. This is the second Budget of the Modi government’s second consecutive tenure after it retained power in May 2019. Sitharam said the fundamentals of the country’s economy are strong and ensured micro-economic stability. Sitharam further said that inflation has been well contained.
The Goods and Service Tax was rolled on July 1, 2017. It subsumed all the indirect taxes except a few state taxes.