Good and Services Tax is a cruise system of indirect tax regime of our country.

It is the
biggest indirect tax reform since independence. It would be levied when a consumer will buy
a good and service. GST is a single indirect tax that combines several indirect taxes as
Service tax, Central Excise tax, customs tax, VAT tax etc. It will make a single market for
more than a dozen state levies.
Pros of the GST:
Business cost might be lower.
Gross Domestic Product will be increased.
We will gain of competitive pricing.
Prices of fixed goods and services might be less.
Sources: GST Overview: Economical Effects on Govt, Companies and Individuals
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Andrew Adolph, Tax recovery consultant and devotee out of Surrey, BC, CA.
ahstaxgroup.ca/blog
Written Apr 3, 2015
Originally Answered: What are disadvantages of a GST for people?

I am not sure I understand the question, but for starters I would say that you don't want the
poor to be paying tax when already they can't afford the necessities of life. In Canada where
I live, people below a certain income level get a cheque from the government to "reimburse"
them some of the tax they have to pay.
But to answer the question better, I have an interesting story to tell about what is going on
in Canada right now, where we have had a GST-type tax for 25 years now. A group people
have formed here demanding that the GST be dropped on feminine hygiene products.
Ideally the law is supposed to find a balance between what are essentials and what are not,
and tax accordingly. Coming up with a list, though, is a different thing!
In my humble opinion, this lobby group has itself a very good point and I hope they win
their case.
So yes, there are disadvantages to people from a GST-type tax.
Is tax on tampons discriminatory?
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Scarlett Lopez, Catch some latest stuff with me

Written Aug 4

What is GST?
The Goods and Service Tax (GST) will be a comprehensive nationwide indirect
tax on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services throughout
India. The aim is to have one indirect tax for the whole nation, which will make
India a unified common market. GST will be levied and collected at each stage of
sale or purchase of goods or services based on the input tax credit method and
would make not just manufacturing but also the inter-state transportation of
goods more efficient.
How will GST work and what all will it subsume?
GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the
manufacturer to the consumer. Credits of input taxes paid at each stage will be
available in the subsequent stage of value addition, which makes GST essentially
a tax only on value addition at each stage. The final consumer will thus bear only
the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain, with set-off benefits at all
the previous stages.
o At the central level, the following taxes will be subsumed: Central Excise
Duty, Additional Excise Duty, Service Tax, Countervailing Duty, and
Special Additional Duty of Customs.

o At the State level, the following taxes will be subsumed: State Value
Added Tax/Sales Tax, Entertainment Tax, Central Sales Tax, Octroi and
Entry tax, Purchase Tax, Luxury tax, and Taxes on lottery, betting and
gambling.
How will GST be beneficial?
The introduction of GST would be a significant step in the reform of indirect
taxation in India. Amalgamating several central and state taxes into a single tax
will mitigate cascading or double taxation, facilitating a common national
market. This would be hugely beneficial for consumers as the tax burden on
inter-state logistics will be cheaper. A common tax would mean easy compliance
and uniformity of tax rates and structures for industry and would thus
contribute to ease of doing business by removing cascading costs. For central
and state governments, GST is expected to lead to easier administration and
enforcement. From the consumer point of view, the biggest advantage would be
in terms of a reduction in the overall tax burden on goods.
By when will it be implemented?
Assuming the Constitution Amendment Bill does pass in the Monsoon Session,
GST will still not be in force before April 1, 2017. And that is putting it
optimistically. Apart from the legislative process mentioned above, the states,
India Inc, and industries and service providers big and small, will also have to
prepare themselves for a completely new nationwide tax regime.
How would GST be administered in India?
There will be two components of GST Central GST (CGST) and State GST
(SGST). Both Centre and States will simultaneously levy GST across the value
chain. Tax will be levied on every supply of goods and services. Centre would
levy and collect Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), and States would levy
and collect the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) on all transactions within a
State.
o The input tax credit of CGST would be available for discharging the CGST
liability on the output at each stage. Similarly, the credit of SGST paid on
inputs would be allowed for paying the SGST on output. No cross
utilization of credit would be permitted.
How will this affect us?
Well the Infographic Image in Link below will answer you clearly.
GST: What it means for your pocket
Image Source : Business Standard
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Virag Kachhiapatel, Designated Partner at HKVK

Written Aug 4
Originally Answered: What is GST? What are the pros and cons of GST?

What is GST?
GST is a consumption based tax levied on sale, manufacture and consumption on goods &
services at a national level. This tax will be substitute for all indirect tax levied by state and
central government. Exports and direct tax like income tax, corporate tax and capital gain
tax will not be affected by GST. GST would apply to all goods other than crude petroleum,
motor spirit, diesel, aviation turbine fuel and natural gas. It would apply to all services
barring a few to be specified. With the increase of international trade in services, GST has
become a global standard. The proposed tax system will take the form of dual GST which
is concurrently levied by central and state government.
This will comprise of:

Central GST (CGST) which will be levied by Centre

State GST (SGST) Which will be levied by State
Integrated GST (IGST) which will be levied by Central Government on interState supply of goods and services.
GST is a tax that we need to pay on supply of goods & services. Any person, who is providing
or supplying goods and services, is liable to charge GST.
Pros of GST

There is no doubt that in production and distribution of goods, services are increasingly
used or consumed and vice versa. Separate taxes for goods and services, which is the present
taxation system, requires division of transaction values into value of goods and services for
taxation, leading to greater complications, administration, including compliances costs. In
the GST system, when all the taxes are integrated, it would make possible the taxation
burden to be split equitably between manufacturing and services.

GST will be levied only at the final destination of consumption based on VAT
principle and not at various points (from manufacturing to retail outlets). This
will help in removing economic distortions and bring about development of a
common national market.
It will also help to build a transparent and corruption-free tax administration.
Presently, a tax is levied on when a finished product moves out from a factory,
which is paid by the manufacturer, and it is again levied at the retail outlet when
sold.
The tax structure will be made lean and simple
The entire Indian market will be a unified market which may translate into
lower business costs. It can facilitate seamless movement of goods across states
and reduce the transaction costs of businesses.
It is good for export oriented businesses. Because it is not applied for
goods/services which are exported out of India.
In the long run, the lower tax burden could translate into lower prices on goods
for consumers.

The Suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers are able to recover GST
incurred on input costs as tax credits. This reduces the cost of doing business,
thus enabling fairer prices for consumers.
It can bring more transparency and better compliance.
Number of departments will reduce which in turn may lead to less corruption
More business entities will come under the tax system thus widening the tax
base. This may lead to better and more tax revenue collections.
Companies which are under unorganized sector will come under tax regime.
Benefits of GST Bill
For the Centre and the States
According to experts, by implementing the GST, India will gain $15 billion a year. This is
because, it will promote more exports, create more employment opportunities and boost
growth. It will divide the burden of tax between manufacturing and services.
For individuals and companies
In the GST system, taxes for both Centre and State will be collected at the point of sale. Both
will be charged on the manufacturing cost. Individuals will be benefited by this as prices are
likely to come down and lower prices mean more consumption, and more consumption
means more production, thereby helping in the growth of the companies.
Cons of GST

Doesn't include petroleum and alcohol products. Heavy loss to the exchequer.
Instead of blurring out the difference between goods and services tax, it
highlights them. An aam aadmi (common man) filing the tax-returns will have
to suffer.
It requires strong IT (Information Technology) infrastructure at grass-root
levels. India essentially lacks this. This factor is going to be the bottleneck, if not
addressed well in advance.
Very high rates 16% compared to current 12.5 % VAT.
Tax-sharing between states and the Centre was another bottleneck. Nice to see
that there is a consensus now.
Service businesses operating pan-India need to take state-wise registration
leading to increased compliance
Any supply (Ex: stock transfer, job-work)would be taxable (although fully
creditable) leading to cash flows getting blocked
Businesses operating in multiple states need to re-align their branch network /
warehouse / logistics strategy
Input credit is subject to matching of invoices
A number of exemptions would be removed
Requirement to determine Point of Supply
No ITC for purchases from Compounding dealers