WCO praises India for reforms in taxation system

New Delhi: Secretary General of World Customs Organisation (WCO) Kunio Mikuriya on Friday appreciated the reforms undertaken by the government in the taxation system, including implementation of GST.

Mikuriya had called on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

As per a finance ministry release, the WCO Secretary General also appreciated the various initiatives taken by the Indian Customs to facilitate trade particularly the release of the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP).

While praising the reforms undertaken by the government in the taxation system during the meeting, Mikuriya said that the efforts made with regard to outreach and capacity building before implementation of GST can be emulated by many other countries.

Mikuriya, who is on a two day official visit to India, also mentioned about WCO working with G-20 on illicit financial flows. He sought Indian support for the study on illicit financial flows and plugging of trade based money laundering.

Earlier, he along with the Chairman of CBEC Vanaja N Sarna addressed a workshop on 'Trade Facilitation Agreement  Learning from Implementation Experience'.

Jaitley said that the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) aims to align border procedures with international best practices and improve ease of doing business.

The finance minister said that it would not only ensure compliance with the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) but would also give impetus to trade facilitation.