There were several critical reform measures that the Budget remained silent upon. The FM was happy referring to them as works in progress! But one at least expected a timeline to be put in place for the implementation of two necessary legislations. These are the Direct Tax Code (DTC) and Goods and Services Tax (GST). Understandably the FM did not want to ruffle too many feathers in the pre-election Budget. He instead put the ball in the state governments' court to take the next step towards the reform. All he did was to provide a Central Sales Tax (CST) compensation of Rs 90 bn to the states.

The economic virtue of GST itself calls for accelerated implementation. More than 140 countries have introduced GST in some form. It has been a part of the tax landscape in Europe for the past 50 years. Moreover it is becoming the preferred form of indirect tax in the entire Asia Pacific region. As per government reports, replacement of indirect taxes by GST can potentially result in 1.4% increase in GDP growth . With such compelling logic, we are not sure why the Centre cannot expedite the legislation. Once again a 'safe' budget chose to ignore the economy's necessities!