GST will not hike inflation, assures Centre

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 25 (ANI): Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday rubbished reports of inflation hike post Goods and Services Tax (GST) roll out, and said that the tax reform will reduce the existing tax slab.

Sitharaman while speaking to media here said, "There is a feeling that inflation will increase after implementation of GST, I totally reject it, assure people it won't rise."

"The tax rate which is now prevailing will not be hiked, because the rates which has been fixed up in GST is known as Revenue Neutral Rate. The tax proposal will remained unchanged post GST. In fact GST rates will try to reduce the tax slab from the existing ones. So therefore, there'll not be any extra-burden on the tax slab imposed on the items at present," she added.

Earlier, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal on Wednesday said the post- Goods and Service Tax (GST) tax base will increase, but the degree by which it increases cannot be predicted.

"Post-GST tax base will increase, but we can't predict by how much and as the tax base revenue will also increase," Meghwal said.

The GST will be rolled out from midnight of June 30 in the presence of several dignitaries including President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Modi, besides other luminaries. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI