JULY 02, 2025

GST at 8: Still Loading…

By Vijay Kumar

A new tax system was born-not with the gentle hum of reform, but the explosive fanfare of a reality show premiere and they called it... GST.

GST promised to unify the Nation's complex tax web. And to some extent, it did-like how a nationwide pothole unifies drivers in shared despair.

Midnight Launch Ctrl+C

India rang in GST under the moonlight. TV anchors yelled "historic", Twitterati (whatever you call them after X?) declared "chaotic," and confused shopkeepers googled, "What is GST?" followed closely by "How to cancel GST registration without going to jail."

The promise? "One Nation, One Tax." The delivery?

VAT, Service Tax, Central Excise, and other sundry cousins packed their bags, quietly-and probably started a WhatsApp group called "Retired but Relevant."

Slabs, Tabs, and That Guy Still Asking, 'Why Four Rates?'

Four rates: 5%, 12%, 18%, 28%-plus exempted, zero-rated and cess. GST turned every invoice into a Rubik's Cube.

Portals, Pandemonium & The National Meditation Website

If the tax system is a building, the portal is the door you knock on, only to discover it's sometimes a wall. Chartered Accountants quickly discovered that logging in could be a transcendental experience.

Every month-end brings a surge in Google searches for:

- GST portal not loading.

- GSTR-3B due date extension please.

- Is it illegal to cry while filing returns?

Headlines That Deserved to Be Real

- GST Completes 8 Years, Celebrates By Charging Itself Birthday Cess

- Cake not included in Input Tax Credit.

- Microsoft Excel offers condolences.

- Logic seen running away

Interview with GST – Still Confusing After All These Years

JG: Welcome, Mr. GST! You're eight now. How does it feel?

GST: Like a schoolkid with a report card that says, "Shows potential. Needs focus."

JG: The most common complaint about you?

GST: People say I'm complicated. But have they tried filing taxes while watching a Bollywood climax with missing subtitles?

JG: What do you wish people understood about you?

GST: I tried to simplify taxes. But India has 29 states, 22 languages, and one billion opinions.

JG: Final message to the taxpayers?

GST: Please update your email. I can't keep sending notices to Gmail accounts you don't check.

What GST Has Taught Us (Besides How to Panic at 11:59 PM)

In eight years, GST has taught India:

1. The Art of Patience: Nothing, not even love, tests your tolerance like a GSTR upload.

2. The Virtue of Googling: One does not simply walk into Input Tax Credit-one Googles it 40 times first.

3. Pan-India Solidarity: We all now suffer portal failures together. North, South, East, West-we refresh as one.

4. Creative Excuses: "GST didn't allow me" has become a legitimate reason to miss deadlines, weddings, and your boss's calls.

5. And perhaps most importantly: "Trust, but screenshot everything."

A Birthday Toast (And a Tax Invoice For the Cake)

To GST-

- You brought structure, yes.

- You brought stress, definitely.

- But you've also modernized the backbone of Indian business, one Excel sheet at a time.

- From startups in Bengaluru to paan shops in Patna, from crorepati corporations to freelancers selling logo designs on Instagram-everyone has felt your digital touch.

- You were ambitious. You were bold. You were glitchy.

- But you've grown up in public, and somehow-despite it all-you've stuck around. That counts for something.

So, here's a toast (at 18% GST, of course):

- May your portals be fast.

- May your slabs be fewer.

- And may your acronyms finally make sense-someday.

Happy 8th, GST. You may be a mystery, a menace, and a meme... But you're ours.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: "Dear GST..."

Dear GST,

It's been 8 years. I've changed my bank account, my phone, and my belief in the system. You remain a riddle with a portal.

Yours in ITC hope, always confused, always compliant.

On 01.07.2017, I wrote in TIOL, GST is here - Enjoy the inevitable

From 0000 hours of today, every Taxpayer, rather every Indian is assumed to be fully aware of all the pristine legislative provisions, for as they say, 'ignorance of Law is no excuse', especially on the part of taxpayers. Tax officers, lawyers and judges are exempted.

As a nation, we get the tax we deserve and anyway as God runs this country, if there's a problem, He will fix it, somehow. And if you don't believe in God, soon you will.

The Prime Minister said GST is a collective effort - you can't blame anyone individually. Most of the decisions of the GST Council have been unanimous

Before a medicine is launched, they usually test it on rats and rabbits, but perhaps no such facility exists or is legally required before a tax is imposed. Unfortunately, unlike the bitter pill, you have no choice with taxation - of refusing to swallow.

Now that GST is in force, I hope the tax officers will read (and perhaps understand) all the simple laws, before they embark upon enforcing them. I fervently hope that all the experts and consultants will read and understand those laws before they advise and preach on GST. As of now, we may also seek the help of astrologers, vaasthu experts and godmen.

GST is so simple that chartered accountants, lawyers and judges can't understand it. All the existing issues are brought forward and several added merrily.

A famous poet was asked the meaning of a poem he wrote. He replied, "When I wrote it, only God and I knew what it meant; now, only God knows".

Maybe we need an overhaul and we should start with the assumptions that:

1. All taxpayers are not in business for cheating alone.

2. Taxpaying is not the only activity of the taxpayers.

3. Tax Department is not the only agency harassing the taxpayers.

4. Complicating the laws and procedures will not bring in more revenue.

5. Technology should assist the taxpayer and the government instead of making life a nightmare.

6. Taxpayers deserve respect and tax collectors are servants of the State.

7. Tax collectors should assist the taxpayers in compliance, not book cases for the impossible.

8. If the system does not work, it is the fault of the government and not the taxpayers.

9. Taxpayers cannot be punished for the blunders of the government.

10. We can certainly do it. We are capable of running a huge railway system, sending a space probe to orbit Mars, holding elections for about 90 crore voters. Can't we run a simple tax system?

If you (government) poke industries like this, they will run away; But will they?

The Indian citizen knows very well how to face the fury of nature and the calamities it brings, without foreign assistance or an additional Cess on GST. Look at the happy faces in Mumbai enjoying an annual urban flood. The Indian taxpayer is no different. He knows how to withstand the fury and might of the Government and its army of officers meant to serve. It is really one of those Indian mystical secrets that quite well-educated, rather rich businessmen suffer silently the hurricane of government fury, just for the fun of running their businesses. In a GST case before the Supreme Court, one of the judges is reported to have stated, "if you (government) poke industries like this, they will run away".

No! your lordship. They will not run away, they will stand and face all the humiliation, all the difficulties, all the tax terrorism, just to stay in business. Here, taxpayers don't run. They screenshot. And then they file.

Whether GST is a boon or bane, it is here to stay and when it's inevitable, let's learn to live with it.

CBIC Commendation Certificate on the occasion of 8th GST Day

Before I sign off, a salute to all 26 officers and two zones, Thiruvananthapuram and Jaipur receiving CBIC commendations this year-but especially to one who turned policy into

propulsion.

Scene: TIOL Congress in Mumbai on 1st March 2025.

Heated discussion on Retrospective Taxation and Mr. SK Rahman, Chief Commissioner was the lone defence for the Government while top lawyers and Industry leaders were vociferous critics of retrospective legislation. Mr Rahman in his humble slow tone defended the government and highlighted the retrospective legislations in favour of the taxpayers and observed that even retrospective taxation is for the social good of the citizens. I saw a senior departmental officer congratulating him with the words, "we are proud of you".

Thiruvananthapuram: Where GST Took Flight.Top national performance in GST registrations and appeal disposals:

While appeal files gathered dust and registrations bloomed annexures across India, one zone stood out for its spectacular trajectory: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has conferred 'Commendation Certificate' on Thiruvananthapuram CGST Zone for its outstanding performance in two core areas of GST administration:

- Processing of GST Registrations (with 55% of applications processed within 7 days as against the national average of 17%.)

- Disposal of GST Appeals (with 83% of appeals filed during the year successfully resolved.)

Helming this fiscal feat is SK Rahman, Chief Commissioner.

Right there in Thiruvananthapuram is ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, where rockets (launch vehicles) routinely leave the Earth's atmosphere-and apparently, so do GST metrics under Rahman's command. In a place where orbital velocity and registration velocity share the same pin code… GST isn't just levied-it's launched.

While the CBIC hands over certificates, we raise a salute-not just to a zone that's thriving, but to an officer who can turn policy into propulsion.

Here's to SK Rahman, a Chief Commissioner who proves that whether you're handling rockets or registrations-trajectory is everything.

If you've filed GST without tears this year, you deserve a certificate too.

Chief Commissioner SK Rahman with Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal and Superstar Mohanlal at the GST Day function in Thiruvananthapuram on 1st July 2025.

Happy Birthday - again

You've outlived jokes, reforms, and a thousand FAQs. Happy Birthday, GST-may you age gracefully, and load faster.

Jest GST For the amused, the bemused, and the over-taxed.