Nirmala Sitharaman Clarifies GST Reforms Not Linked to Tariff War

By A Staff Reporter

Delhi | Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday clarified that the government’s recent Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms were not a reaction to the ongoing tariff war, emphasizing that the process had been in motion long before current global trade tensions emerged.

“This has been in the works for one and a half years,” Sitharaman said when asked whether the changes were linked to the tariff war. “Who had thought of any tariff war at that time? Several groups of ministers were working on this for one and a half years, and these groups met again after the Government of India’s package was sent to the GST Council and subsequently to the group of ministers,” she explained.

The Finance Minister stressed that the GST revisions were a result of long-term planning and multi-level consultations. “These are discussed at various levels at various times. So nowhere close to the tariff war. This had to happen. This was waiting to happen for quite some time. It has happened now,” she said.