Hours after the much-anticipated Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee in a special midnight session at the Parliament on Friday, video of a TTE asking for Rs 20 each from passengers has emerged.
In a video depicting chaos that went viral online, the Travel Ticket Examiner (TTE) of Queen Express was seen asking passengers to pay an additional fare of Rs. 20 per ticket on account of instructions given to him by government officials to do so, citing the GST to be the reason for the same.
Passengers were seen arguing that the charge must be levied on tickets booked after July 1, and not on those booked before the roll out of the new tax regime, and refused to pay the additional fee. Passengers also demanded to see an official circular from the Centre. No action has been taken against the TTE so far.
The video went viral on social media platforms and it is being said that the Indian Railways has now implemented various changes in its fare structure after rollout of the new tax regime. However, the railways department has released a press release which says not to believe such news.
On Friday, PM Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee launched GST at the stoke of midnight which is said to be founded on the concept of ‘one nation, one market, one tax.’ Soon after the launch, PM Modi addressed a gathering of current and former lawmakers, business leaders and central bank officials and said that the GST marks the economic integration of India. “There are 500 taxes and we are getting rid of it. From Ganganagar to Itanagar and Leh to Lakshadweep, it is one nation, one tax,” he added.
It was indeed a warm welcome for the GST which was proposed back in 2006 in the Parliament. The rollout will eliminate somewhere around 20 federal and state level taxes and unify country’s entire population under one single frame tax regime for the first time. With GST on the go, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government claims to expand India’s narrow tax base which will further strengthen government revenue making models. The decision to implement the new tax regime has bagged mixed response from the political circle and industry critics. Several economists have praised government’s step and expect the GST be the most effective economic reform of PM Modi-led three-year-old BJP regime.
