Ganderbal, Aug 20: A two-day national seminar on “GST Reforms 2.0: Sectoral Growth Prospects and Challenges”, organised by the Department of Commerce, School of Business Studies, Central University of Kashmir (CUKashmir), in collaboration with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, concluded at the Tulmulla Campus on Thursday.

The seminar brought together academicians, researchers and taxation experts to examine the evolving Goods and Services Tax regime, its impact on economic growth and the challenges that remain.
Addressing the valedictory session, Dean, School of Social Sciences, Prof. D. K. Madaan, highlighted the economic and political dimensions of GST, particularly its implications for welfare and resource distribution. He said the unified tax structure had improved efficiency by enabling businesses to source inputs more effectively, reducing supply-chain costs and widening participation in the formal tax network.
He also advocated further reforms to align taxation with environmental sustainability, including incentives for environmentally responsible production.
Former Vice-Chancellor of CCS University, Meerut, Prof. Narendra Kumar Taneja, said GST had helped dismantle the fragmented tax structure that earlier encouraged businesses to maintain in-house production and warehouses to avoid inter-state taxation.
He pointed to the restructuring of supply chains by major companies following GST implementation and argued that taxation could also become an instrument for promoting green growth. He suggested higher taxation on products with greater greenhouse-gas emissions and lower rates for environmentally friendly alternatives.
Assistant Director (Retd.) and advocate M.G. Kodandaram provided a practitioner's perspective, describing GST as a major shift from an origin-based to a consumption-based taxation system. He highlighted the role of Input Tax Credit in reducing cascading taxation and noted the substantial rationalisation of the highest tax slab since GST was introduced.
He also urged researchers to examine emerging issues surrounding place-of-supply provisions and the evolving GST framework.
Earlier, Dean, School of Business Studies, Prof. Syed Zahoor Ahmad Geelani, thanked Vice-Chancellor Prof. A. Ravinder Nath for his support and ICSSR for financial assistance. He said the seminar reflected the university's commitment to research-driven academic engagement in line with the National Education Policy 2020.
Seminar convenor and Head of the Department of Commerce, Dr. Mehraj-ud-Din Shah, said the university received 74 research papers from scholars and academicians across the country, of which 50 were selected after scrutiny for presentation during the seminar.
The programme concluded with the distribution of certificates among participants. Assistant Professor Dr. Rizwana Rafiq conducted the proceedings, while Dr. Mehraj-ud-Din Shah proposed the vote of thanks.