The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) today said that tax rates under the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in India is likely to be between 16-20%. "World over, GST rates are typically between 16% and 20%. In India it is likely to be the same," CBEC Chairman Sumit D Majumdar told reporters here. He said tax rates under the proposed GST would come down sharply and the number of assessees would rise by 5-6 times. Although rates would come down, tax collection would go up due to increased buoyancy, he said on the sidelines of a session organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce. A Constitutional Amendment Bill on GST was introduced in the Lok Sabha in the last Budget Session. The GST would subsume most of the indirect taxes like excise duty and service tax at the central level and VAT on the state front, besides local levies. The implementation of GST, considered to be a major tax reform, has been stuck for years due to differences between the Centre and some states over the new structure.

Source - http://www.business-standard.com