The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which was implemented in India in 2017, was a significant change to the nation's tax system, substituting a single indirect tax for several tax system. This study examines how GST affects customer behavior, concentrating on One of the most important changes in the indirect taxation in India is the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which reorganized the indirect taxation of the consumption of various types of products. Although a lot of research has been conducted on GST on compliance, revenue, and business fronts, there is little empirical research conducted on consumer experience, especially in the markets of both essential and non-essential goods. This paper examines the effect of the implementation of GST on consumer price perception, affordability, satisfaction and general welfare in these two different consumption segments. The comparative empirical design was taken up with using primary survey data gathered on the consumers of different demographic categories accompanied with GST slab classification as well as market price observations. Essential goods (lower GST or exempt category) and non essential goods (ordinary and higher GST bracket) were studied in order to determine the difference in consumer reaction. The effects of GST related price changes and tax transparency on the elements of consumer experience were assessed using statistical methods such as descriptive analysis, mean comparison tests and regression modelling. The results show that GST has produced mixed impacts among markets: relative price fairness perception and moderate price fairness perception were relatively steady among consumers of essential goods products but relatively elevated among consumers of non-essential goods products. The itemized GST billing found to increase trust and satisfaction in both types of taxes.
Aksharitha et al. (Wed,) studied this question.