Goods and Services Tax (GST) implemented in India sought to formalize the Indian economy by making the market more competitive and thereby auguring economic growth. However, compliance function with regard to any system of taxation can be executed only by first properly understanding the system. A study of businessmen’s perception, across their occupation types, be it the manufacturers, traders, and service providers towards the implementation of Goods and Services Tax can assist the government both in better policy making as well as enhancing society’s confidence towards the government in implementing the system. The present study was conducted with a sample of 104 taxable persons in Guwahati, Assam identified by snowball sampling, and an attempt was made to understand the differences in the perception of taxable persons on Goods and Services Tax attributes across their occupation types. Six attributes of Goods and Services Tax : Concept, Structure, Procedure, Administration, Compliance, and Ease of Doing Business were the subject matter of the study. The findings of the study revealed that there did not exist significant differences in terms of Goods and Services Tax attributes as perceived by the taxable persons across their occupation types. With some simplification in the structural and procedural aspects and improvement in administration, better compliance can be ensured. The findings revealed that there is reasonable clarity amongst the taxable persons as regard the provisions of the Goods and Services Tax. Further improvements in the legislation through proper policy framing and better implementation will result in improved compliance.

1. Abdul, A. S., Bidin, Z., & Munuswamy, M. (2017). The effect of attitude and understanding towards GST satisfaction among business community in Malaysia. Advanced Science Letters, 23(4), 3120–3123.
2. Ahmad, M. A., Ismail, Z., & Halim, H. A. (2016). Awareness and perception of taxpayers towards goods and services tax (GST) implementation. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 6(11), 75–94.
3. Anushuya, & Narwal, K. P. (2014). The existing commodity sales tax system and the proposed Indian GST : An analysis using Mclure's ideal sales tax system. Arthshastra Indian Journal of Economics & Research, 3(2), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.17010/aijer/2014/v3i2/55970
4. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. (2017, April 12). Central Goods and Services Act 2017. cbicgst.gov.in/CGST-bill-e.html
5. Chawla, D., & Sondhi, N. (2016). Research methodology–Concepts and cases (2nd ed.). Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
6. Churchill, G. A., Iacobucci, D., & Israel, D. (2010). Marketing research : A South Asian perspective (India Edition). Cengage India Private Limited.
7. Dash, A. K., & Rath, S. S. (2016). Fiscal performance of North Eastern states of India. Arthshastra Indian Journal of Economics & Research, 5(6), 31–41. https://doi.org/10.17010/aijer/2016/v5i6/107521
8. Garg, Y., & Gupta, J. (2017). An exploratory study on evolution & implementation of GST in India (pp. 240–244). 3rd International Conference on Innovative Trends in Science, Engineering and Management, New Delhi.
9. Goh, P. J., Huei, C. T., & Tay, A. G. (2017). Consumers' perception towards the implementation of goods and services tax (GST) in Malaysia : A review paper. Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship, 1(4), 17–23.
10. Kumar, A. S., & Kumar, S. (n.d.). An overview of Indian tax system before and after GST. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 37–40. http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jbm/papers/Conf.18010-2018/Volume%201/9.%2037-40.pdf
11. Kumar, P., & Sarkar, S. S. (2016). Consumers' perception towards the value added tax (VAT) in Uttar Pradesh. Apeejay–Journal of Management Sciences and Technology, 3(3), 48–58.
12. Kumar, R. (2016). Comparison between goods and services tax and current taxation system : A brief study. IJAPRR International Journal of Allied Practice, Research and Review, 3(4), 09–16.
13. Lewis, B. R., Snyder, C. A., & Rainer, R. K. (2015). An empirical assessment of the information resource management construct. Journal of Management Information Systems, 12(1), 199–223.
14. Malhotra, N. K., & Dash, S. (2012). Marketing research - An applied orientation (6th ed.). Pearson Publications.
15. Menon, P. B., & Ali, A. K. (2018). A study on the public opinion towards GST implementation with special reference to Tanur Municipality, Kerala. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 30–34. http://iosrjournals.org/iosr-jbm/papers/Conf.18010-2018/Volume%202/9.%2030-34.pdf
16. Nayyar, A., & Singh, I. (2018). A comprehensive analysis of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India. Indian Journal of Finance, 12(2), 57–71. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2018/v12i2/121377
17. Rathi, K. N., & Sreeraj, M. K. (2018). Customers' perception on goods and services tax (GST). IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR–JBM), 20(2), 47–52. DOI: 10.9790/487X-2002014752
18. Singh, N., & Patil, V. (2018). A study on perceived impact of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on common people in Pune. Paripex–Indian Journal of Research, 7(4), 132–135.
19. Suresh, G., & Kumar, M. R. (2018). Factors influencing perception of GST- Analytical study in Bangalore city. IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR–JBM), 20(3), 13–18.
20. Taherdoost, H. (2016). Validity and reliability of the research instrument ; How to test the validation of a questionnaire / survey in a research. International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 5(3), 28–36.