At the Bengal Business Conclave, Mamata Banerjee expressed deep concern about the current state of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system, which she believes is harming small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). She reflected on the advice she had received to support the implementation of GST, an idea that once seemed promising.
In a recent post on X, Dr. Amit Mitra, Principal Chief Advisor to the West Bengal Chief Minister, with the rank of a Cabinet Minister, elaborated on his role in shaping Mamata Banerjee’s support for GST. He shared, “In 2009, I had drawn her attention to how MSMEs were suffocating under the weight of 17 different taxes in the VAT regime, including Central Excise, Excise on Textiles, CVD, Service Tax, and more. I proposed that a single tax regime, like GST, would be a transparent and digitally empowered solution to save MSMEs.”
Mamata Banerjee, known for her empathy toward MSMEs, took a firm stand in favour of GST. However, eight years later, the implementation of GST was marred by a series of setbacks. A government eager to grab headlines launched the GST from the Central Hall of Parliament in July 2017, but the computer systems required for processing were nowhere near ready. The GST Network was expected to handle 300 crore invoices every month, a task it was simply not equipped to handle. This led to one administrative failure after another.
Dr. Mitra, a Padma Shri awardee, further highlighted the ongoing problems with the GST administration. He pointed out that since its launch, the government has issued a staggering 955 notifications, 754 circulars, and 192 prescribed forms for return filing. Additionally, there have been 86 amendments to the CGST Act and 147 amendments to the rules of CGST. According to the Government of India, over 2 lakh crore in frauds have been reported, bleeding government resources.
Dr. Mitra concluded, “The tentacles of the octopus are back, choking MSMEs once again, this time due to an incompetent, inept, and uncaring Central Government. It’s clear why Mamata Banerjee is so anguished over GST, which is slowly suffocating the backbone of our economy — MSMEs, which constitute 92% of businesses in India.”
