A DECADE OF GST: REVENUE PERFORMANCE, COMPLIANCE BEHAVIOUR, AND THE CONSUMPTION TAX DEBATE IN INDIA

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduced in India on 1 July 2017, was one of the country's most important tax reforms. It replaced several central and state indirect taxes with a common tax framework intended to reduce tax complexity, improve compliance and create a more integrated national market. As GST approaches its tenth year, there is enough evidence to examine how far it has achieved these objectives. This paper looks at three important aspects of the reform: GST revenue performance, changes in tax compliance, and the continuing debate over rates and the distributional impact of a consumption-based tax. The evidence suggests that GST has become an increasingly important source of government revenue and has expanded the formal tax base through digital compliance. At the same time, issues such as rate complexity, compliance costs for smaller businesses and concerns about fiscal relations between the Centre and states remain relevant. GST can therefore be viewed as a major reform that has delivered significant benefits while still requiring further improvements.