GST shakes up Indian economy by setting the compliance bar high

On 1 July, the government made an ambitious shift to what it promised was a modern, transparent and technology-driven indirect tax system to sharpen the competitive edge of a $2.3 trillion Indian economy riven by internal trade barriers and a raft of central, state and local taxes. The goods and services tax (GST) was hailed as the biggest tax reform by India in 70 years of independence, a potenti…