A vague assurance

PM's promise of shielding SMEs from tax scrutiny can't be kept

During a recent visit to poll-bound Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to reach out to the state’s large community of traders by assuring them that the government would not probe their past records if they joined the new indirect tax regime, the goods and services tax (GST). “I know those who are joining fear that their past records will be checked. I assure you no tax official will be allowed to do that if someone wants to come into the mainstream,” the prime minister said. Small and medium enterprises, which have been struggling due to a combination of demand