Nagaland to gain revenue through GST: Dr. Benjong

Parliamentary secretary for CAWD and Taxes, Dr. Benjongliba Aier on Friday said implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Nagaland would benefit the State in terms of revenue, adding GST would give State additional power to levy and collect taxes on services.
Dr. Benjongliba was speaking as chief guest at the ‘Awareness Campaign on GST’ here at Town Hall, jointly organised by the Commissioner of Taxes, Nagaland and Commissioner of Central Excise and Tax, Shillong, Government of India.
The chief guest pointed out three benefits of implementing GST in the State. “GST, which is an indirect taxation merging most of the existing taxes into single system of taxation, would eliminate the existing cascading of tax due to multiple layers of taxes leading to fall in cost of production”, he said.
Another benefit, Dr. Benjongliba noted, was that goods and services would become cheaper for the consumers once GST was implemented.
Thirdly, he said, the State stands to gain revenue, which is important as the State needs to increase its internal revenue generation.
According to him, Nagaland has been supporting the reform and was among the first states to ratify the Constitutional Amendment Bill on August 26, 2016.
Dr. Benjongliba went on to highlight the State’s preparedness in implementing GST, while pointing out the services and institutional support in place for smooth transition to GST regime in Nagaland.
“I assure you that the government will leave no stone unturned to ensure that there are minimum problems during the change of tax regime,” he told the gathering of businessmen and State and Central officials.
Additional chief secretary and finance commissioner, Temjen Toy and chief commissioner, Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax, Shillong Zone, spoke in length about the new tax regime. Commissioner of taxes also gave a PowerPoint Presentation on GST.
Earlier, commissioner of Taxes delivered the welcome address.
The programme culminated with vote of thanks by joint commissioner, Central Excise, Shillong. Later, the participants took part in the technical session. Another awareness campaign on GST will be held in Kohima on April 29.