The press release outlines the background, significance, and extensive preparatory work behind the rollout of Goods and Services Tax (GST), which came into effect from 1 July 2017, marking the most comprehensive reform of India’s indirect tax system since Independence. GST was introduced as a unified tax administered jointly by the Centre and the States, with the objective of creating a common national market under the principle of “One Nation, One Tax, One Market.” The release highlights that GST subsumed multiple central and state taxes, reduced cascading effects, lowered overall tax incidence on most goods, made exports zero-rated, and improved India’s global competitiveness while supporting initiatives such as Make in India. It details the intensive efforts undertaken after the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016, including 18 meetings of the GST Council, over 200 officer-level meetings, and more than 27,000 man-hours of work to finalise GST laws, rules, rate structures, exemptions, thresholds, and administrative frameworks through consensus and stakeholder consultations. Key features such as the four-rate tax structure, exemption thresholds, composition scheme, compensation cess, technology-driven compliance, auto-populated returns, time-bound refunds, anti-profiteering measures, and transitional provisions are outlined. The release also describes the critical role of GSTN as the IT backbone, large-scale taxpayer enrolment, integration with banking systems, extensive outreach programmes, reorganisation and training of tax officials, and the use of social media for taxpayer support. Overall, the press release presents GST as a landmark reform aimed at simplifying taxation, improving ease of doing business, and strengthening India’s economic integration.