The Forum of Free Enterprise is a non-political organization founded in 1956 by A. D. Shroff, and has been established to educate public opinion in India on free enterprise and a democratic way of life. The Forum publishes booklets to further its objects. The following booklet is titled “Good & Services Tax – An Overview” was published in August 2017 and was authored by Jamshyd Godrej, Bhavana Doshi, and S.S. Bhandare. In the first part of the text, Jamshyd Godrej presents the business perspective of GST by explaining its impact on the taxation system and industries. The author gives credits to the political establishment and tax authorities to achieve this by both the Houses of Parliament, States governments, and the finance ministry.

In the second part of the text author, Bhavana Doshi presents a Macro Overview of India’s Goods and Services Tax. The author describes GST as a mega reform and presents how it came into reality. Also, the author discusses India’s Goods and Services Tax and compares it with the other advanced/experienced nations of the world, further the text explains the features and the advantageous and disadvantageous consequences of GST. The text ends with the acknowledgment of the constructive approach taken by government officials, and the Prime Minister, Union Finance Minister, and State chief ministers for addressing concerns related to the GST. The author hopes that this will lead to a mindset change of collecting the tax fairly.

In the third part, S.S. Bhandare elucidates the economic impact of Goods and Services Tax. The text discusses GST rate structures and further, it assesses the economic impact of GST at the micro and macro level. The text concludes with the view that there have been several anomalies found in the GST reform and provides suggestions to improve it.