• Vineethan T
• Dr. Sravana K

Goods and Service tax is a remarkable indirect tax reform introduced in India on 1st July, 2017. The reform offers certain benefits such as ease of doing business, easy tax compliance, better transparency, seamless input tax credit, etc. However, its impact on purchasing power of consumers is a matter of discussion among all the stakeholders. While tax rates of several products have increased with the implementation of GST, some other products have become more affordable to the consumers. As Kerala is a state with exceptional consumer behaviour, the study is an attempt to examine the impact of GST on purchasing power of consumers in Kerala. By comparing the VAT and GST rates of various categories of commodities and by using paired sample t-test, the study found that the implementation of GST has increased the tax rates as well as price of all the selected categories of products except apparel and footwear. Hence, the study concludes the purchasing power of Kerala consumers has adversely affected by GST reform at least to a small extent.

GST reform, indirect taxation, VAT rate, GST rate, purchasing power

"Has GST Reform Reduced the Purchasing Power of Consumers in Kerala? ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 1, page no.222-234, January-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1901J35.pdf

"Has GST Reform Reduced the Purchasing Power of Consumers in Kerala? ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 1, page no. pp222-234, January-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1901J35.pdf