The Goods and Services Tax (GST), set to be rolled out on Saturday, July 1, is expected to boost the slowing job market in a big way. Experts believe that GST will improve ease of doing business and urge industries to expand their operations, which in turn will create more job opportunities in the country.
In fact, the GST is likely to create about 1 lakh job openings in the country, including in specialised areas such as taxation and accounting. "On an estimation, it looks like it will create more than one lakh jobs immediately from the first quarter of the implementation date and another 50,000-60,000 jobs will be created for specific activities for GST, going forward," the Press Trust of India quoted GlobalHunt's MD Sunil Goel as saying.
The tax reform is likely to help the job sector witness an annual growth of about 10-13 percent and increase the demand for professionals in various sectors of the economy.
Indian Staffing Federation's President Rituparna Chakraborty had earlier explained that the GST will benefit both corporates and the economy and will also pave the way for more job creation. Now, she explains that GST will make procurement and distribution of goods much faster, improving cash flow and profitability.
"All these and the transparency of compliance shall make working with unorganised players exponentially less attractive thereby pushing the country towards greater formalisation," Chakraborty said. "We are expecting an annualised growth to the tune of 10 -13 percent in formal job creation on account of GST."
Considering the GST will boost the ease of doing a business campaign, the country is also likely to see more investments from foreign investors and companies.
LabourNet Services India co-founder and CEO Gayathri Vasudevan also said hiring is expected rise after GST is rolled out, but infrastructure and logistics issues will need to be sorted out on a timely basis.
"Although GST is set to propel hiring, compliance ambiguities such as place of supply (intra- or inter-state), for instance, could pose as a challenge for industries that could adversely affect job creation in the near future. However, once the transition phase eases out, in the long run, GST will add momentum to the entire hiring landscape," Vasudevan said.
