Published Paper Details:

The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India represents one of the most significant indirect tax reforms aimed at creating a unified national market and improving tax efficiency. By subsuming multiple central and state-level indirect taxes into a single tax framework, GST sought to eliminate cascading effects, simplify compliance, and enhance transparency in the taxation system. The manufacturing sector, being a major contributor to India's GDP, employment, and exports, occupies a crucial position in assessing the effectiveness of this reform. This paper provides a conceptual and analytical review of the structure and evolution of GST in India, with specific emphasis on its implications for the manufacturing sector. Using secondary data and an extensive review of existing literature, policy documents, and government reports, the study examines the dual GST model, rate structure, input tax credit mechanism, and institutional framework governing GST. The paper also identifies key challenges faced by the manufacturing sector under the GST regime, including rate complexity, compliance burden, working capital pressures, and transitional issues. The study concludes by highlighting the need for continued policy refinement to ensure that GST achieves its intended objectives of efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainable industrial growth.