Prices of goods will go down under GST, says ICSI president

Kolkata, Aug 10 

If the revenue neutral rate under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime is fixed at 18 per cent, prices of goods are expected to go down while services might cost more, a top official of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) said on Wednesday.

"If the revenue neutral rate under the GST regime is fixed at 18 per cent, I think there will be no inflationary pressure. In fact, with the 18 per cent rate, prices of goods are expected to go down in the long run. But prices of services are expected to go up by 300 basis points," said ICSI's President Mamata Binani.

She said currently the service tax is levied to the extent of 15 per cent. 

She also said 15 to 17 taxes will be subsumed in one tax under the GST regime. As operations of unorganised sector are likely to be organised in the unified tax regime, the government will be able to mop up more tax revenue, Binani said.

"GST will be a boon for business and industry as it will bring a new wave of tax regime in India by providing easy compliance, uniformity of tax rates and structures, improved competitiveness and gain to manufacturers and exporters," she said.

"GST will increase professional opportunity," she added.