India, Sept. 7 -- On the occasion of the 79th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emphasised the importance of undertaking the next generation of reforms in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, keeping the interests of the common man at the fore. The reforms recently approved by the 56th GST Council are a watershed moment in the evolution of India's indirect tax system.

The new GST reforms rest on three interlinked pillars: Structural reforms, rate rationalisation, and ease of living for taxpayers.

In designing structural reforms, attention was paid to bringing down the number of rate slabs and reduce tax uncertainty. Ideally, goods and services should be charged at a standard rate, with some goods that are commonly used...