New Delhi [India], September 6 : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has promised that she will personally monitor the passing on of GST rate cuts by the businesses to the consumers.
"I'll personally be monitoring the situation as it is getting passed," the finance minister said in an interview with Times Now.
She also encouraged citizens to report if someone fails to reduce the prices of goods on whose taxes were reduced.
"I have had many people tell me from different parts of the country that it's a welcome move, and in turn, I've told them if it is not getting passed on, you must communicate with me, and I shall be on the ground," she said in the interview.
To ensure GST rate cuts reach the public, she said several industry players have already pledged to pass on benefits.
Sitharaman highlighted that GST reforms affect the lives of every Indian citizen, as almost everything purchased in the market carries a tax implication.
"...every citizen waking up in the morning has something or the other bought in the market which has an implication, GST implication."
She described the GST reform as massive and complex, requiring intense bureaucratic effort and long working hours.
"It required so much of working hours, intense working hours. The bureaucracy was completely with me in every moment..."
Sitharaman admitted an estimated Rs 48,000 crore annual revenue loss, as per static data models, due to simplified GST rates.
At the same time, she expects buoyant demand during festivals will partly offset the revenue loss.
"...better (demand) buoyancy will help us somewhat...be able to offset this (revenue loss)," she said.
Asked to respond to the Opposition's reaction to GST reforms, Sitharaman said the opposition conceded the reform's significance, but not in as many words.
"In a way, the Opposition party is conceding that the reform has happened and happened in a big way. They should be gracious enough to say it rather than couch it in so many words. That's a plain and simple expectation."
She questioned why leaders like former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or the UPA governments didn't act on GST when they were in power.
"If the wisdom prevailed, and it is available from the opposition for the current government, that wisdom should have been available even for their own government, be it the UPA between 2004 and 14, or even 91."
On West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claim that she suggested GST exemption on individual life and health insurance, Sitharaman stressed that all states across party lines contributed.
"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee could have written a letter to me on insurance. My point is, the first thing I came out of GST council and addressed the media, I thanked every minister, every minister of finance was in the council, irrespective of party affiliation, saying all of you all put together, all of us put together, have come up with something which is going to be stunningly positively impacting on people. And therefore, I'm grateful to each one of them."
In another question, Sitharaman was asked why GST rate cuts weren't implemented before Onam. Sitharaman countered by saying South India also celebrates Navratri.
"Tamil Nadu is not alien to Navaratra," she said, referring to her home state.
Sweeping changes have been made to what the government termed the next-generation GST (Goods and Services Tax) rationalisation. It came just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced it from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day. This is aimed at reducing the tax burden on citizens while stimulating economic growth.
The GST Council approved significant rate cuts across multiple sectors - medical, daily staple, education, auto, health and life insurance, electronics -- which the government has described as a Diwali gift for the nation.
On Trump tariffs and whether the government is worried about it, Sitharaman said she doesn't worry daily about Trump's statements. She said she believes PM Modi's leadership ensures India's national interests are safeguarded.
"I first lay all my trust and faith in Prime Minister Modi, who is very astute in handling these sort of matters. And I again place a lot of trust and faith in Prime Minister Modi because he puts the nation first and no decision that he takes or will take in the future or today will be aside from this. It will be for the nation and he will be making sure that India is not adversely impacted or hit or whatever."
On India's global stance, she emphasized that India's priority is India.
She, however, acknowledged short-term impacts of 50 per cent US tariffs but reassured that exporters will be supported by her government.