(LiveMint)
Ahead of the landmark goods and services tax (GST) completing a year on 1 July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday acknowledged the contribution of states for showcasing ‘cooperative federalism’ in its implementation. Modi termed the tax regime as ‘victory of integrity’ and ‘celebration of honesty’ which ended inspector raj in the country.
“If I have to give credit to anyone for successful implementation of ‘One Nation One Tax reform’, then I credit the states of our nation. GST is a great example of cooperative federalism, where all the states decided to take a unanimous decision in the interest of the nation, and then such a huge tax reform could be implemented in the country,” Modi said in the 45th edition of his radio address Mann Ki Baat on Sunday.
Modi said that in total, the 27 meetings saw representation from different states with different priorities and political ideologies but they all took decisions in GST Council with ‘absolute’ consensus. He added that the concept of a check post has become extinct after the introduction of GST and the movement of goods has become faster.