PM Modi hails GST; US CEO responds, 'India has more useless paperwork than all others'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 1 marked the eighth anniversary of GST by calling it a transformative reform that reshaped India’s economic landscape and eased the burden of doing business, especially for small and medium enterprises.

"Eight years since it was introduced, GST stands out as a landmark reform that has reshaped India’s economic landscape. By reducing the compliance burden, it has greatly improved the Ease of Doing Business, particularly for small and medium enterprises," Modi wrote in a post on X.

“By reducing the compliance burden, [GST] has greatly improved the Ease of Doing Business,” Modi said. He added that GST had become a “powerful engine for economic growth,” emphasizing its role in cooperative federalism by enabling states to act as equal partners in the process of integrating India’s market.

However, Modi’s assertion drew sharp contrast from U.S. entrepreneur Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, who posted a blunt response on his post: “I have to file more useless paperwork for our entity in India than all our other countries combined.”

I have to file more useless paperwork for our entity in India than all our other countries combined.

— Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) July 1, 2025

The conflicting views have reignited debate over the actual on-ground impact of GST on foreign companies operating in India. While the Indian government maintains that GST has simplified the country’s indirect tax regime, many people argue that regulatory paperwork remains a challenge in India.

GST was introduced by the Indian government on July 1, 2017. It replaced a complex web of more than a dozen central and state taxes with a single, unified tax regime. The GST system now covers over 1.45 crore active taxpayers, with 13 crore e-way bills generated monthly, reflecting the scale and reach of the reform.

Yet, businesses, especially foreign and digital-first companies, have continued to flag issues. Critics point out that while GST may have reduced tax cascading and eased inter-state commerce, compliance remains burdensome due to complex filing procedures and a patchwork of rules that vary by state.

According to a 2020 World Bank report, India ranked 63rd globally on the Ease of Doing Business index in 2019, a significant improvement from 142nd in 2014.