Goods and services tax (GST) in India: The roadmap

GST is the most awaited pending bill waiting for the approval at Rajya Sabha. It is a value added tax, which would be applicable on goods and services with an equal rate of tax in all the states. This would help in the elimination of multiplicity of taxes and their cascading effects. This would replace most of the indirect taxes. GST would be one of the most significant fiscal reforms of independent India. A growth of 1% to 2% is expected in the GDP through implementation of GST in India. As per the Economic Survey 2015-16 it is expected that implementation of GST would increase the collection through indirect taxes by Rs. 3.3 lac crores. This article is an attempt to know how the GST system is an improvement over the current system. What can be the model and rate for GST in India? What will be the registration process and the role of CMAs in GST?