an insight into the awareness and perception of consumers

www.theinternationaljournal.org> RJEBS : Volume: 09, Number: 05, March 2020

An Insight into the Awareness and Perception of Consumers on GST

Rukmani Singaram

(Final Year BBA FIB student, Christ Deemed to be University, Bangalore)

Abstract: Goods and Service Tax was first proposed in India on July 1st 2017 by Prime Minister and the

Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley although the implementation only began in April 2018.This

was a significant step in the field of indirect tax reforms in India as this tax has subsumed 17 different

taxes. Through this study the government will be able to understand the feedback of GST from their

consumers (employees, businessmen and professionals). Until now, many communities are less

understanding and confused regarding the GST system and have a negative perception about it. This

study consists of 385 consumers (employees, businessmen and professionals) in the area of Bangalore.

Data was collected through a questionnaire and the results showed that the level of awareness is

moderate and the perception is neither agree nor disagree with the implementation of GST. This shows

that the consumers are aware of GST but they do not have a positive or negative perception towards it

and this may make it difficult for the consumers to bring a positive influence among the consumers.

Keywords: Goods and Service Tax (GST), Awareness, Perception, Indian Economy, Rates Applicable

in GST

Introduction

Tax is the amount of money paid to the government that is based on your income or cost of

goods and services you have bought.(Cambridge Dictionary)Taxation had led to a lot of corruption and

at some point, in time it had made the citizens revolt against their kings as the kings tried to use the

money collected from tax to expand their nation. After decades have passed taxation has been

categorized into two forms, direct taxation and indirect taxation. Direct taxation is when tax is levied

on a person's income or the profit, they make rather than on goods and services. This taxation system

follows the ability to pay principle where a person who earns more will pay more tax in comparison to

a person who earns less. The government believes this is the best way to redistribute the wealth among

the nation. While direct tax is focused on the earnings and profits made by the individual, indirect tax

is focused on collecting tax from the producer or retailer of the supply chain and paid to the

government although many times it is passed on to the customers as a part of the purchase price which

further burdens the customer as they have to pay more for the product.

GST is abbreviated to form Goods and Service taxes. As the name suggests it is a

comprehensive, multistage, destination based tax that is levied on every value addition done at every

stage of the supply chain. This first came into existence in France in the year 1954 due to the tax

evasion being high. This tax was considered to be an indirect tax that was levied on manufacturing,

sales and consumption of goods and services on a national level. This GST was considered to be a

value added taxation regime which consisted of 4 tax slabs(1%,5.5%,10% and 20%) .

In India they have followed a model similar to France where they have 5 tax slabs.

Table 1: Tax Rates Prevailing In India

Tax Rate 0% 5% 12% 18% 28%

Item 50% of the

consumer price

basket

including food

baskets

Mass

consumption

items like

spice and

mustard oils

Processed

Food

Soaps ,Oil

,Toothpaste,

Refrigerator,S

martphones etc

White goods,

Cars and

Luxury Items

There are certain items that have special tax rates such as gold which has a 3% tax rate and rough

precious and semi precious stones which have a 0.25% tax rate. Products such as tobacco, luxury cars


and carbonated drinks to state a few have an additional CESS of 22%on top of the GST rate. There are

some products which do not fall under the umbrella GST and still continue to attract value added tax

and excise duty which is similar to the old taxation model followed by India. The products are Alcohol

for the purpose of consumption, petroleum products and natural gases.

In the below chart we are able to see the earnings that the government has made from the duration of

April 2019 to November 2019, this highlights the monetary benefits received by the government

through its adaptation.

Source: GST.Council.gov.in

Although this is what India has started to follow since the 1st of July 2017, in the past there used to be

a separate set of indirect taxes collected by the central government and another set that was collected

by the state government. GST has simplified and consolidated the following taxes that were levied on

the goods and services.

Table 2: Different Taxes before Implementation of GST

Indirect Taxes collected by Central

Government

Indirect Taxes collected by the State

Government

Central Excise Duty State Value Added Tax

Additional Excise Duty Central Sales Tax

Special Additional Duties of Customs Luxury Tax

Service Tax Octroi and Entry Tax

Additional Customs Duty or Countervailing Duty Entertainment and Amusement Tax

Tax on Advertisements

Purchase Tax

Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling

State Surcharges and cesses that related to goods

and services


During the pre-goods and service tax regime the products had different tax percentages; to have a

clearer understanding below is a table that compares the GST rates and the previous tax regime rates:

Table 3: Classification of Products and a Comparison of the GST rates and the Previous Tax

system

Items GST Rate

(%)

Existing Rate

(%)

Consumer Goods

Aluminum Foil 18 18.5

Agarbatti 5 0

Preserved Vegetables 12 0

Butter ,Ghee ,Cheese and Dry Fruits 12 6

Condensed Milk ,Toilet Paper ,Hot water bottle ,Pencil Sharpeners

and Knives

18 18.5

Branded Paneer and Cereals 5 0

Frozen Meat 12 6

Coffee concentrates, custard powder, protein concentrates, sugar

syrups

28 26

Razor, Dental Floss, Toothpaste ,Deodorants ,Aftershave and

Shaving creams

28 26

Candles, Tooth powder ,LED lights ,Milk Beverages and Ready to

Eat Namkeen/Bhujia

12 26

Sweetmeats, bakery mixes,doughs,pizza bread, vegetable fats and

oils and tea concentrates and soups

5 12

Lifestyle and Home

Leather bags 28 6

Cell Phones 18 6

Air conditioners ,Refrigerators, Storage Water heaters, Dish

washing Machines, Photocopier, Fax Machines ,Wristwatches,

Furniture ,Video game consoles, Exercise equipment

28 26

Whey proteins & fitness supplements, Hats and other head gears

and Printers

18 26

Beauty and Personal Care

Manicure, Pedicure sets, Perfume, Beauty or makeup preparations

,Skincare items including sunscreen ,Shampoos, Hair cream ,Hair

28 26


Dyes ,Wigs ,False beards and eyelashes

Kitchenware and Appliances

Stoves (except Kerosene, LPG) and Electrical hot plates 28 18.5

Aluminum Utensils 12 18.5

LPG for domestic use 5 17

Household copper articles, Copper utensils, Iron/Steel/Household

articles and Kerosene Stoves

5 18.5

Construction

Cement 28 30

Wall Paper 28 18.5

Paints,Varnishes,Putty,Wall fillings,Plasters,Ceramic tiles and

Tempered Glass

28 26

Sand lime bricks 5 6

Fly Ash bricks 12 6

Dairy and Farm Products

Fresh Milk, Fresh Vegetables, Roots and tubers and Fresh Fruits 0 0

Fruits and Vegetable Juices 12 12

Medical Supplies

Human blood and condoms/contraceptives 0 0

Glands and other organs ,Ayurvedic, Unani Medicaments and

Homoeopathic,Siddha Medicaments

12 12

Metals and Minerals

Peat 5 19.5

All ores and concentrates 5 18.5

Kerosene PDS 5 17

Petroleum coke, Petroleum bitumen 18 27.5

Tar, Coal and Lignite 5 12

Copper Bars ,Rods,Wires,Screws,Nuts and Bolts

Nickel Bars ,Rods,Wires,Screws,Nuts, Bolts ,Tubes, Pipes and

Netting

Aluminum rods, wires

Lead plates, sheets strips

18 18.5


Tin bars and rods

Others

Rubber Tyres 28 18.5

Steam and Children’s Drawing Books 12 0

Plastic Products, Calcareous Stone and Artists students or

Signboard colours

28 18.5

Nuclear Fuel, Heavy water and other nuclear fuels, Compressed air,

Solar water heater, Renewable Energy Devices

5 0

Braille Typewriters 5 13.5

Pianos, Revolvers and Artificial Flowers 28 26

Bangles(Non Precious Metals) Exempt 0

Fountain Pen Ink, Ball Pen Ink and Wood Pulp and Calendars 12 12

Printed Books 0 0

Animal or Human Blood Vaccines and Sand lime bricks, fly ash

bricks

5 6

Power Driven Water Pumps 12 12.5

Padlocks,Lock,Helmets,Plastic Products 18 18.5

Fertilisers,Tractors and Sewing/Knitting Needles 12 18.5

Agricultural Implements and Firewood 0 12.5

Geometry Boxes 5 18.5

Source: Bloomberg Quint

This table helps us understand that metals and minerals along with kitchenware and appliances

and consumer goods have become cheaper since the implementation of GST whereas lifestyle and

home products and beauty and personal care as well as construction products have become more

expensive while dairy and farm products and medical supplies have remained unaffected by the change

in the tax system.

GST follows the principle of one nation one tax where it has subsumed 17 different indirect

taxes into one. This has allowed the suppliers to benefit from input tax credit and for the impact

(traders are liable) and incidence (burden on the customer) to fall on different individuals. GST is

collected by the Central Board of Indirect Tax, Excise and Customs. The GST council has

accommodated over 1300 goods and 400 services under 4 tax slabs. Aside from those tax slabs we

have tax on gold at 3% and tax on rough precious and semi precious stones at 0.25% under GST.

GST has been structured in such a way that the essential items and food items are placed under

the lower tax brackets while the luxury products and services are placed in the higher tax brackets.

A total of 81% of all the goods and services fall below or in the 18% tax slab. This means 7% of the

items come under the exempted list,14% of the items attract a 5% tax,17% of the items attract a 12%


tax, and 43% of the items attract 18% tax slab, while only 19% of the items fall under the highest slab

of 28% in the new regime.(Kotak Mahindra Bank.GST rate slabs simplified)

After merging all these taxes GST has structured itself into 4 kinds which are applicable on goods and

services.

1. CGST- This is Central Goods and Services Tax where the revenue will be collected by the

central government.

2. SGST- This is State Goods and Service Tax where the revenue will be collected by the state

government.

3. IGST-This is the Integrated Goods and Service Tax which will be applicable when there is an

interstate sale of goods and services. This tax is collected by the Central government and a

certain share is given to the state government.

4. UTGST-This is the Union Territory Goods and Service Tax where the tax will be collected by

the union territory government.

For India to have adopted GST over Sales Tax there were considerable advantages, the first

being the removal of cascading effect of the tax while implementing a uniform tax rates across the

country product wise and service wise. This system has also improved efficiency in logistics,

operations and cost savings for organizations through supply chains that don't allow revenue leakage.

It has decreased the number of compliance and administration process by creating an online simplified

process for the registered organizations while this system is also regulating the unregistered

organizations.

In this study we are trying to understand the impact of socio-demographic factors on the

awareness and perception of customers in terms of GST. Review of literature has been conducted on

different studies conducted in India and other countries to understand the awareness and perception of

GST. For the research methodology a questionnaire has been used and the sample has been put

through SPSS to analyze using the regression and correlation analysis. The findings and conclusion of

the study state that the awareness of consumers is moderate while the perception is neutral where the

customers neither agree nor disagree.

Literature Reviews

All of the prior literature reviews are comprehensive in nature however they focus only on

specific states and countries as a whole. The literature reviews have been taken from the time frame of

2012(Hernandez) to 2019(Aakanksha Uppal et al) .They had common objectives of identifying the

awareness or perception and sometimes both.

Aakanksha Uppal et al.2019 examine the perception and awareness of Small Business Persons and

has focused on the Ghaziabad Region. Most of the SBP’s have admitted they have had the wrong

perception of GST and that was due to the false information that was shared with them by people who

are incompetent of making comments on such topics. They believe that the government could have

taken more initiative by providing them training and softwares which would have highlighted the ease

and benefits of GST.

Harjinder Kaur.2018 has studied the public awareness, knowledge and understanding of GST in

India and the researcher has identified that the consumer has received less information and promotions

about GST which show that most of them lack information on GST which makes them negatively

perceive GST. The author has further suggested that the government should take initiatives to bring

extensive public education programs to implement GST successfully.

Abhraham Ann & Mathew Tony.2018 identified the awareness and satisfaction levels of consumers

in the state of Kerala with GST and through this study it was understood that consumers had moderate

awareness about the various aspects of GST and there was a difference in the awareness levels based


on the socio demographic variables. In terms of satisfaction females seem to be more satisfied with

GST in comparison to males and in terms of educational qualifications, the higher the qualification the

more they seems satisfied with GST.

Prabha L,Bhuvaneswari K,Nandida S.2018 examine the impact that GST may have on the

consumer buying behaviors and to identify the problems faced by consumers because of GST while

identifying the level of awareness towards GST. There has been a growth in the economy since the

implementation of GST but the authors believe that there will be a need to revise the tax rates in the

future as the necessities of the consumers may change.GST is inaccessible to the illiterate because it is

connected to the Digital India Regime making it harder for them to understand the procedural concepts

Vinayak Revji Gandal.2018 has studied the awareness of GST among traders in Khalapur, Taluka of

Raigad District Maharashtra. Through this study we have discovered that the traders agreed with the

implementation of GST and were well aware of it and its new provisions.This study suggests that the

government should organise new orientation programmes in rural areas to bring about more awareness

and include all traders in this biggest tax reform in the country.

Gowtham Ramkumar.2018 has explored the GST mechanism implemented in India and tried to

understand the consumer’s opinion on both the implementation of GST and the prevailing rates which

may affect their disposable income and spending ability. Through this study we have understood that

GST has been implemented differently in comparison to how it has been implemented abroad and that

consumers believe that the four tier system of tax rates according to products has really helped in

reducing the aftermath of the GST regime and that it is still too early to judge how beneficial GST will

be in terms of a consumer's purchasing power.

Vineet Chouhan, Pushpkant Shakdweep, Shagufta Khan.2017 has focused on Rajasthan small

business owners and their awareness of GST. It was found that the government should focus on

training and computer software availability.These owners are interested in creating and joining

trainings , they have also shown great awareness towards GST’s uniformity with only two tax rates

while relatively low awareness in terms of the implementation of GST.

Sapna.2017 highlighted the changes that had taken place with the introduction of GST in relation to

the growth, current account, price and effect on the budget.

A.Hilary Joseph, D.Kanakavalli.2017 first examines the socio economic background of the

consumers and then identifies the awareness level of the consumers about GST and its major

applicable rates. Based on this the author has given suggestions on how to enlighten the customers

about GST. This enlightenment can take place through awareness programmes conducted for college

students, employees and senior citizens or it can happen by using various mass media forms such as

television, radio advertisements and Newspapers.

Parthasarathi Shome.2017 has highlighted the monitoring that should be taking place now that GST

has been implemented and shows how instead of monitoring and correcting, the top administrators are

hand- holding the taxpayers by easing compliance and controlling the remaining elements of

corruption. This was mainly due to petroleum being an exception to GST which has reduced the

impact GST has on the consumers

Kishore Kumar Das, Swayambu Kalyan Mishra.2017 focus on the economic and social effects of

implementing GST in Australia and the extent to which GST has been implemented in the country.

Australia was the 5th country to implement GST in Oceania although there was a lot of political

disagreement towards its implementation. It was identified that Australia considers GST to be a


regressive tax and after the implementation Australia has recorded the first negative economic growth

rate in the last 10 years.

Mohammed Ali Roshidi Ahmad et al.2016 focuses on civil servants from Kuala Lumpur and Perak

and understand the perspective customers have towards GST as the Malaysian Government wanted to

understand the consumers perception of it before implementing it ,since there was a moderate level of

awareness there was also a majority of high negative perception of GST among the consumers. This

eventually caused the majority of the respondents to not accept the implementation of GST in

Malaysia.

Sim Choon Ling et al.2015 examines the correlation between price, government subsidies and income

inequality towards GST Compliance in Malaysia. This study has proved that there is a significant

correlation between these factors and the GST compliance and that tax noncompliance is a big threat to

the integrity of every tax system. The final conclusion of this study was that it helped the policy

makers understand the consumers and guide them to make policies that may help the consumers in the

future.

Hernandez.2012 used the Megatrax and Sam model to study the impact of increased VAT rates

replacing the Para fiscal taxes on employment in Colombia. The labourers were divided into formal

and informal labour and the tax rates used were the effective tax rates rather than the normal rates. The

wage curve had allowed him to understand workers' decisions of whether to work as formal or

informal worker. The results of the study proved that the VAT rates had a negative impact on the

household consumptions and outputs.

Through these research papers we are able to understand that the GST bill is passed long before it is

implemented and when it finally is implemented it is not as optimal as it was planned to be because of

the lack of awareness and the perceptions consumers have towards GST.

Statement of the Problem

The goods and services tax was implemented with the aim to align the unorganized sector of the

economy with the organized sector. It also helped increase the revenue of the government while

bringing the products to the consumers at a reduced price. It has been in action since April 2018

although the bills were passed in July 2017. As it has been a year and a half since the implementation,

it is found feasible to study the awareness of consumers about the various aspects of GST and whether

the socio demographic variables influence the awareness level of consumers. The GST system has not

provided any instant benefit to the stakeholders so the satisfaction level of the consumers with the

implementation of GST is also studied in this paper.

Objectives ● To identify the level of awareness of consumers about various aspects of GST

● To analyze whether age and occupation influence the awareness level of the customers

● To assess the satisfaction level of consumers with the implementation of GST

Hypothesis of the study

Main Hypothesis

● 1.Alternate Hypothesis:Socio-Demographic factors can influence the awareness level of the

consumers(employees, businessmen and professionals) about various aspects of GST

2. Null Hypothesis: Socio Demographic factors do not influence the awareness levels of

consumers (employees, businessmen and professionals) about various aspects of GST


● 1.Alternate Hypothesis: The satisfaction level of consumers(employees, businessmen and

professionals) in the implementation are influenced by socio-demographic factors

● 2. Null Hypothesis: The satisfaction levels of consumers (employees, businessmen and

professionals) in the implementation are not influenced by socio-demographic factors.

Sub-Hypothesis

Socio-demographic factor: Age

● 1.Alternate Hypothesis: Age can influence the awareness level of the consumers(employees,

businessmen and professionals) about various aspects of GST

● 2.Null Hypothesis: Age does not influence the awareness levels of consumers(employees,

businessmen and professionals) about various aspects of GST


professionals) in the implementation are influenced by age

● 2.Null Hypothesis: The satisfaction level of consumers(employees, businessmen and

professionals) in the implementation are not influenced by age

Socio-demographic factor: Occupation

● 1.Alternate Hypothesis: Occupation can influence the awareness level of the


● 2.Null Hypothesis: Occupation does not influence the awareness levels of



professionals) in the implementation are influenced by occupation


professionals) in the implementation are not influenced by occupation

Socio-demographic factor: Gender

● 1.Alternate Hypothesis: Gender can influence the awareness level of the


● 2.Null Hypothesis: Gender does not influence the awareness levels of



professionals) in the implementation are influenced by gender


professionals) in the implementation are not influenced by gender

Socio-demographic factor: Monthly Income of Family

● 1.Alternate Hypothesis: Monthly Income of a family can influence the awareness level of the


● 2.Null Hypothesis: Monthly Income of a family does not influence the awareness levels of



professionals) in the implementation are influenced by the monthly income of the family


professionals) in the implementation are not influenced by the monthly income of the family

Socio-demographic factor: Educational Qualification


● 1.Alternate Hypothesis: Educational Qualification can influence the awareness level of the


● 2.Null Hypothesis: Educational Qualification does not influence the awareness levels of



professionals) in the implementation are influenced by educational qualification


professionals) in the implementation are not influenced by educational qualification

Research Design

This in an exploratory research and since GST is a concept that was recently introduced in the Indian

markets; this study tries to understand the awareness and perception of GST among consumers. The

sample size of the study is 385 as the population is considered to be infinite and the area of study is the

Bangalore city. Judgment sampling was used as the respondents(employees, businessmen and

professionals) were only those who had some awareness about GST.

The research methodology of this study is divided in the following points:

● Source of data: Primary data has been collected from the consumers residing in Bangalore,

Karnataka. It has been collected through a questionnaire which consists of a structured

schedule of questions. The questions have been categorized into awareness related questions

and perception related questions where both of them used Likert scales.

● The Likert scale used for the awareness questions is the level of awareness (not at all aware,

slightly aware, somewhat aware, moderately aware and extremely aware) whereas for

perception it is level of agreement (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree more disagree,

agree and strongly agree).

● There were certain questions where the consumers are given 4 options and they would have to

pick the best option out of the options available to them

● Sample Size - the sample size for conducting the study was 385 consumers in the Bangalore

Region. This number was decided by using the formula to calculate the sample size for infinite

populations.

● SS = Z 2 p (1 − p)/ C 2

● In this formula the margin of error is taken as 5 percent, the level of confidence at 95 percent,

the population size of Bangalore and the sample proportion as 50 percent.

● Sampling technique: Judgment sampling has been used as the sampling technique of this

paper

● Software used and Tests run : IBM SPSS version 20, the test that was run using this software

was spearman's two tail correlation where it was run between the age and the awareness score

,age and the perception score ,occupation and the awareness score ,occupation and the

perception score, gender and awareness score ,gender and awareness score ,income and

perception score , income and awareness score, income and perception score, educational

qualification and awareness score, educational qualification and perception score and finally

between awareness and perception itself .


Data Analysis and Interpretation

Table 4: Demographic Profile

Particulars N(count) %

Gender

Male 208 52.13

Female 191 47.87

Age

Below 24 years 106 26.57

25 to 35 years 93 23.31

36 to 45 years 101 25.31

Above 46 years 99 24.81

Qualification

School level 48 12.03

Degree/Diploma 222 55.64

Post Graduation 93 23.31

Professional 36 9.02

Marital Status

Unmarried 180 45.11

Married 219 54.87

Occupation 385 100

Employed 203 50.88

Business 90 22.56

Professional 106 26.57

Monthly Income

Upto Rs50000 84 21.05

Rs50000 to Rs100000 119 29.82

Rs100000 to Rs200000 110 27.57

Above 200000 86 21.55


Table 2 shows the demographic profile of the respondents. There are 52.13 percent male and47.87

percent females who have given their opinion about goods and service taxes.219 (54.87percent) of the

respondents were married and 180(45.11percent) of the respondents were single. In terms of age, 106

respondents were below the age of 24, 93 (23.31percent) respondents were between 25 to 35 years and

101 (25.31percent) respondents who were between 36 to 45 years while there were only 99

(24.81percent) respondents who were aged more than 46 years. 12.03percent of the respondents had

the educational qualification of school level and 55.63percent had a degree or diploma while only

23.01percent had a postgraduate degree and 9.02percent had professional degrees. In terms of

occupations 50.88percent of our respondents were employed while some (22.56percent) were business

owners and others (26.57percent) were professionals.21.05 percent of the respondents earn up to

50000 per month while 21.55 percent earn above 2 lakhs per annum. Most (29.82percent) of the

respondents had an income of 50000 to 1 lakh per month while the rest (27.57 percent) of the

respondents had an income of 1 to 2 lakhs per month.

Table 5: Descriptive Analysis

Descriptive Statistics

The mean of age shows that an average number of the respondents fall in the age group of 36 to

45 years old and that there is a variance of 1.120 between the different age groups.

The mean of the occupation is 1.74 which shows that average respondents belong to the

business sector and the variance between the different occupations is 0.841.

The average awareness of consumers is 3.57 which mean that the consumers are moderately

aware of GST while the variance among the responses to the questions present in the questionnaire is

0.942.

The average perception of consumers is 3.315 which mean that the consumers neither agree nor

disagree with the implementation of GST. The variance among the responses is 0.719.

Table 6 :Correlation between Socio Demographic factors and Awareness Score

Socio-Demographic Factor Correlation Coefficient Sig.(2-tailed)

Age 0.001 0.988

Occupation 0.171 0.001

Gender 0.131 0.010

Income 0.348 0.000

Educational Qualification 0.300 0.000


The analysis clearly reveals that the correlation between age and awareness is a very weak

positive correlation as the correlation coefficient is 0.001 as per the two tailed spearman test significant

is 0.988 which means that the null hypothesis is accepted that states that age does not influence the

awareness of GST among consumers. When we analyze the correlation between awareness and

occupation there was a very weak positive correlation as the correlation coefficient is 0.171 and

significance as per the 2 tailed spearman test is 0.001 which means that the alternate hypothesis has

been accepted which states that awareness is influenced by occupation although it is very weak

influence. Likewise correlation between awareness and income was a weak positive correlation as the

correlation coefficient is 0.348 and significance as per the 2 tailed spearman test is 0.000 which means

that the alternate hypothesis has been accepted which states that awareness is influenced by income

although it is a weak influence. Similarly the correlation between awareness and educational

qualification was a weak positive correlation as the correlation coefficient is 0.300 and significance

as per the 2 tailed spearman test is 0.000 which means that the alternate hypothesis has been accepted

which states that awareness is influenced by educational qualification although it is weak influence.

However the correlation between awareness and gender shows a very weak positive correlation as the

correlation coefficient is 0.131 and significance as per the 2 tailed spearman test is 0.010 which means

that the null hypothesis has been accepted which states that awareness is not influenced by gender.

Table 7: Correlation between Socio Demographic factors and Perception Score

Socio-Demographic Factor Correlation Coefficient Sig.(2-tailed)

Age 0.068 0.180

Occupation 0.095 0.062

Gender 0.087 0.086

Income 0.001 0.986

Educational Qualification 0.034 0.500

The analysis clearly reveals that the correlation between age and perception was a very weak

positive correlation as the correlation coefficient is 0.068 and the significance as per the 2 tailed

spearman test is 0.180 which means that the alternate hypothesis has been accepted which states that

perception is influenced by the age factor however not to a very large extent. Likewise the correlation

between educational qualification and perception was a very weak positive correlation as the

correlation coefficient is 0.034 and the significance as per the 2 tailed spearman test is 0.500 which

means that the alternate hypothesis has been accepted which states that perception is influenced by the

education factor however not to a very large extent.

However the correlation between occupation and perception was a very weak positive

correlation as the correlation coefficient is 0.095 and the significance as per the 2 tailed spearman test

is 0.062 which means that the null hypothesis has been accepted which states that perception is not

influenced by the occupation of the consumer. Moreover the correlation between gender and

perception was a very weak positive correlation as the correlation coefficient is 0.087 and the

significance as per the 2 tailed spearman test is 0.086 which means that the null hypothesis has been

accepted which states that perception is not influenced by the gender factor. Furthermore the

correlation between income and perception was a very weak positive correlation as the correlation

coefficient is 0.001 and the significance as per the 2 tailed spearman test is 0.986 which means that the

null hypothesis has been accepted which states that perception is not influenced by the income factor.


Correlation between Awareness and Perception Score

Correlation Coefficient Sig(2 tailed)

0.221 0.000

The analysis clearly reveals that the correlation between awareness and perception was a weak

correlation as the correlation coefficient is 0.221 and the significance as per the 2 tailed spearman test

is 0.000 which means that the alternate hypothesis has been accepted which states that awareness of

GST affects the perception of GST although there is a weak relationship among them.

Results and Discussions

● Findings

The result of this paper highlights that there is little influence of age, income, educational

qualification and occupation on the awareness and perception of a consumer who resides in Bangalore.

However it shows that gender has no impact on the individual’s awareness or perception of GST. This

study also indicates that the awareness of GST has not reached a satisfactory level as the questions

placed in the questionnaire were general in nature since the result highlights that the consumers are

only moderately aware of GST. This may have also led the consumers to give a neutral response

towards the perception of GST as not many people were extremely aware of it regardless of their age

and occupation. These results also prove that there was less information and promotion from the

authorities’ point of view. Through secondary data that was collected we have identified that some

products which fall under the categorization of metals, minerals, kitchen appliances and consumer

goods have become cheaper as they have a low tax rate since the introduction of the GST rates but at

the same time another category of products such as lifestyle products, home products and beauty

products have become more expensive. The only products that have remained unaffected by the

change in the tax system are dairy and farm products and medical supplies. This shows that the

government had tried to focus on the necessities of the consumers and make them more affordable

while increasing the prices of luxury products although that increase is not stopping the consumers

from buying those products as shown on the earnings of the government from the duration of April

2019 to November 2019.

● Comparison with prior studies

The results lead to a similar conclusion as presented by other research papers that state that the

awareness and perception among consumers regarding GST is ranging from low to moderate

depending on the state. In this study we mainly focused on the influence of socio demographic factors

such as age and occupation on the awareness and perception and according to spearman's correlation

tests all of them show a weak positive correlation which means that the factors do influence the

awareness and perception of GST but not to a large extent. Most of the consumers of Bangalore would

like government press releases and campaigns although in other studies the authors have discovered

that in other states the consumers and business people would prefer timely training by the government

according to the changes in the GST policy. Other studies also agree that consumers have a negative

perception due to the lack of knowledge on GST.

● Limitations and Further Scope of the study

This study has focused only on Bangalore, further scope of research would be to split

Karnataka into North, East, South and West and analyze which region has higher awareness and

positive perception towards GST and identify what they are doing differently in comparison to the

other regions and see if it can be implemented in other regions as well.

Due to the lack of time we decided not to investigate more socio demographic factors such as

marital status, educational qualification and gender as this study only focuses on age and occupation.


Conscious and dishonest answers from the respondents as they feel conscious that they are

being judged by the researcher for their responses and so they try to give more positive responses

rather than their actual opinions.

The study should be conducted again once the government runs new initiatives on the

awareness of GST to see if there is a change in the perception of consumers towards GST.

Suggestions and Conclusion

● Suggestion

1. The government should launch more extensive public education programs in the field of GST

which help the consumers understand more complicated concepts of GST that may benefit

them in the long run and make them become customers who have detailed knowledge of GST

rather than moderate knowledge of GST

2. There should be proper guidelines to the society about the procedures involved with the

implementation of GST to smoothen the transition process and make it more transparent

3. The Government should focus on both online and offline platforms to communicate with the

consumers and conduct open talks about GST without jargon so that the concept does not

sound too complicated to the consumers putting them of from the concept due to its complexity

● Conclusion

This study has helped us conclude that after a year and a half later after the implementation of

GST the awareness and perception of consumers are better than they were when studied in the past but

to make the consumers extremely aware citizens of GST the government needs to bring about more

resources to share the details of GST and how GST will be benefit them. If consumers understand this

then the consumers will change their perception towards GST from a neutral perception to a more

positive perception which will benefit the government in implementing GST policies in the future with

proper awareness schemes.

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Appendix

● Questionnaire

Name:

Age:

Below 24 years

25 to 35 years

36 to 45 years


Above 46 years

Gender:

Male

Female

Marital Status

Married

Unmarried

Educational Qualification

School Level

Degree/Diploma

Post Graduation

Professional

Occupation

Employed

Business

Professional

Monthly Income of the family

Upto Rs50000

Rs50000 to 1lakh

1 lakh to 2 lakh

Above 2 lakh

Awareness of GST questions:This had to be ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 (below the responses in

terms of frequency have been attached.

● Frequency table for awareness

Key: NA- not at all aware ,SlA - slightly aware ,SA- somewhat aware ,MA- Moderately aware

,EA- Extremely aware

Source: Primary Data

Sno Statements NA SlA SA MA EA Total

1 India follows a dual GST

system

16 61 95 119 96 385

2 Various Indirect taxes are

subsumed into GST

12 33 92 125 125 385

3 There are various categories

of GST rates

10 51 98 120 108 385

4 Different GST rates are

applicable on daily necessity

goods

8 34 95 124 126 385

5 Different GST rates are

applicable on luxury

11 65 102 118 91 385


products

6 Goods and Services which

are exempted from GST

54 48 80 117 88 385

7 Event of applicability of

GST such as

IGST,CGST,SGST and

UTGST

15 46 101 122 103 385

8 Tax break up is mandatory

for every transaction in the

bill

28 45 99 121 94 385

9 The decision made by GST

council makes the GST rates

of products and services

unstable

41 65 79 129 73 385

10 In order to promote export

units,government has a rate

of 0% for these units

39 56 86 125 81 385

11 To encourage industrial units

set up in SEZ ,GST has been

relaxed

10 56 123 146 52 385

12 Overall knowledge of GST 54 148 56 100 29 385

Perception of GST questions:This had to be ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 (below the responses in

terms of frequency have been attached.

● Frequency table for perception

Key:SD-Strongly Disagree,D-Disagree,NA-Neither Agree nor Disagree , A- Agree,SA- Strongly

Agree

Source:Primary Data

Sno Statements SD D N A SA Total

1 The government has

introduced GST with

complete preparation

49 106 73 137 22 385

2 After the implementation of

GST ,the confusion of

different classification has

reduced

37 75 58 166 51 385

3 The government has

addressed the cascading

effect of taxes through GST

37 93 77 141 39 385

4 Allocation of goods and 42 91 62 145 47 385


services under different tax

slabs have been done

according to the benefit of

the consumers

5 Products and services have

become cheaper after the

implementation of GST

38 86 65 142 56 385

6 Most of the products I

consume on a daily basis is

either exempted or taxed at

a low rate

38 85 66 143 55 385

7 Tax on medicine has

increased after the


16 32 72 184 83 385

8 Tax on gold or ornaments

has increased after the


14 33 68 191 81 385


GST ,the revenue of the

government has increased

10 35 51 191 100 385


GST , I received the invoice

regularly from the shopping

venues

11 41 55 191 89 385

11 Government has conducted

various awareness

campaigns and programs to

educate the consumers on

GST

49 100 82 102 54 385

12 Government has addressed

the challenges of SME

while implementing GST

50 94 86 107 50 385

an insight into the awareness and perception of consumers

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