GST will bring ‘tsunami’ of tax reforms: Manish Sisodia

New Delhi: Stressing that the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) will bring a tsunami of tax reforms, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said that the Delhi government may soon set up a dedicated cell in coordination with an industry body to address issues of traders pertaining to GST.

Addressing the “CII Delhi State Annual Session,” Mr Sisodia said he wants to set up the cell in coordination with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to help small traders “understand” GST which is expected to come into effect from July 1.

“Except organised sector, semi-organised sector will have a problem in understanding GST. In view of this, I want to set up a dedicated cell in the help with the CII so that we can address queries of small traders when GST is implemented in the country,” he said.

Asserting that there are concerns about GST, he said people are also excited about the new taxation system. “If we do not help the traders, Delhi will have to face a big loss  (in terms of business),” Mr Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said.

Apart from this, he also advocated running skill centres on the premises of government schools in the evening with the help of private players so that the youth could be trained in different skills.

“There is no use of government school premises after school hours. We can use them by running skill centres so that youths living in the neighbourhood can prepare themselves in line with the industry demands,” he said.

He said that the industry should do a detailed study on what skills would be required five years and ten years down the line so that the government can work towards providing the required manpower. “The government will provide location and space to the industry so that they can partner with the Delhi government to create and impart vocational courses. The Delhi Government has announced two budgets in last two years without any tax increase however this looks difficult in the third year.”