Hasmukh Adhia, who is retiring on 30 November, says there’s still some time before petroleum products & alcohol are brought under GST.
New Delhi: Outgoing finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia has said there were bound to be “some hiccups” in the implementation of the goods and services tax, but unlike many other countries that have rolled it back or grappled with problems for years, the Indian structure has stabilised within a year.
Many experts, traders and opposition political parties have criticised the implementation of the new tax structure, but Adhia, who retires on 30 November, told ThePrint there was nothing wrong with the process. He added that overhauling any system in a short span of time was bound to face problems.
However, he said that the inclusion of petroleum products and alcohol under the ambit of GST was still some time away.
“It was not faulty implementation. There were some hiccups, and we immediately addressed those. Yes, there have been hiccups and that was expected… when you roll out a tax structure of such magnitude and scale, such hiccups are bound to happen,” the Gujarat cadre IAS officer said.
He said over 1,000 decisions have been taken in 30 meetings by the GST Council, of which about 99 per cent have been implemented.
“You have to take the examples of other countries. Malaysia implemented GST and then rolled it back in three years. Australia had problems relating to the new tax structure for years… We have managed to iron out most problems in about a year,” Adhia said, adding that the issue relating to GST refunds is an exaggerated one. “There is no problem in that area, exporters’ refunds have been cleared.”
Adhia emphasised that all decisions pertaining to the new tax structure have been taken through consensus, something Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had insisted on.
“That itself is an achievement — that it was a collective decision, and every state has been taken on board. Whenever there were disagreements, the FM waited and gave them time, but it was absolutely clear that no decision would be taken in case there was no consensus,” Adhia said.
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Won’t stay on in any capacity
Adhia, known as one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most trusted aides, took over as financial services secretary in November 2014, just after the BJP-led NDA government came to power. In August 2015, he was made revenue secretary.
However, sources said he was unhappy and offended after senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy levelled corruption charges against him. Swamy even said that Adhia helped defaulter Nirav Modi flee the country.
Eyebrows were also raised when the government decided to extend cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha’s tenure by a year instead of appointing Adhia to the post. Adhia proceeded on a 16-day leave from 5 May, just after the decision.
In a Facebook post on 17 November, Jaitley paid rich tribute to him, adding that the government wanted to use Adhia’s capability and experience in some other capacity, but the latter was not willing to stay on “for a single day after the 30th of November 2018”.
“His tenure as the revenue secretary will be remembered for various initiatives where he provided the bureaucratic leadership in shaping and implementation of the policy. The campaign against black money both within and outside the country was the initial highlight of the revenue department,” Jaitley said, adding that Adhia was unquestionably highly competent, disciplined and a no-nonsense civil servant with impeccable integrity.
On his part, Adhia, who also spearheaded demonetisation, said that rolling out social security schemes under the Jan Suraksha umbrella, such as the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana, among others, will remain his most cherished achievement.
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