GST@8: Why businesses like GST and what they want next

New Delhi: Indian businesses are pitching for more reforms to improve the efficiency of goods and services tax even as they agree that the unified regime has transformed indirect tax administration over the past eight years, according to a survey.

Better dispute settlement, rationalizing rates and faster refunds are among the priorities they highlighted, found the survey of 960 leaders from across the industry conducted by Deloitte India. After widespread technology adoption in the tax ecosystem, they are asking for “thoughtful refinements” to further improve the GST portal’s efficiency, the survey said.

As high as 85% of the survey respondents, representing small and large corporations, highlighted a positive experience during their eight-year GST journey, the fourth edition of Deloitte’s annual GST survey showed.

The participants attributed that to digitization of compliances and proactive tax policy engagement, the survey said. GST perception improved among micro, small and medium enterprises, with 82% having a positive view this year compared with 78% in 2024.

The respondents included executives in leadership positions across sectors covering technology, telecommunications, energy, banking, life sciences, consumer and global capability centres.

More than two-thirds of those surveyed, up from 55% in 2024, acknowledged that clarifications and instructions issued under GST help resolve on-ground disputes, and 99% of the businesses have IT systems ready or partially ready for GST audits and notices.

Auto-population of tax returns using e-invoicing data has emerged as the most user-friendly feature of the GST portal, reflecting the industry’s preference for automated compliance, the survey pointed out.

The survey captured a robust endorsement of the tax reform by businesses and they have expressed a strong sentiment to get to the next phase of GST reforms, Deloitte said in a statement. “Confidence in GST has steadily risen from 59% in 2022 to 85% in 2025, driven by improved compliance maturity, digitization and proactive engagement by policymakers,” the statement said, quoting Gokul Chaudhri, president, tax, Deloitte India.

Reforms businesses want

The survey also captured the industry’s suggestions for reforms. Priorities include strengthening the dispute-resolution mechanism, rationalizing rates across sectors, ensuring audit uniformity between central and state tax authorities and promoting exports by liberalizing rules.

‘Persistent impediments’ to ease of doing business include challenges in obtaining refunds, a limited understanding of new-age business models and expansive pro-revenue legal interpretations by authorities.

“Government should curb hasty assessments, enforce time-bound scrutiny processes and ensure implementation of GST circulars to provide clarity and certainty at ground level,” the survey said. “Government is listening, and industry is ready to collaborate on shaping GST 2.0—a more streamlined, transparent and growth-friendly tax ecosystem.”