'Bengal saw highest number of GST registrations in India'

At 77 per cent, West Bengal topped the list of states with new registrations under the Goods and Services Tax regime, an official said on Friday.

"The national average is 23 per cent," Arvind Singh, the new Principal Commissioner, GST and CX, Eastern Region, said at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

According to him, even states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra are lagging behind the eastern state in GST registration.

The figure speaks highly of West Bengal, Singh said, adding that about 2,45,000 people in the state are tax-payers while the number in the country stands at around eight million.

"GST, which is technology driven, is eliminating human interfaces. Not only has it brought a change in the entire psyche of businesses, it has given birth to a whole new vocabulary," Singh added.

"Words such as OTP (One Time Password) and digital signature have emerged. The challenge is to make sure even small business people understand these parlances."

--IANS

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