✅ Answer: B) July 1, 2017GST was implemented on July 1, 2017 — called “One Nation, One Tax, One Market.” It was enabled by the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016 which inserted Article 246A giving concurrent power to levy GST to both Centre and States.

✅ Answer: B) Article 279AThe GST Council is established under Article 279A. It is chaired by the Union Finance Minister. State Finance Ministers are members. Decisions are taken by 3/4 majority (Centre has 1/3 vote; States together have 2/3 vote).

✅ Answer: B) Inter-state supply and importsIGST (Integrated GST) is levied on inter-state supply of goods and services and on imports. For intra-state supply, CGST (Central GST) + SGST (State GST) are levied. For Union Territories, UTGST is levied instead of SGST.

✅ Answer: B) 15%New manufacturing companies set up after October 1, 2019 pay corporate tax at 15% (effective rate ~17.01% including surcharge and cess). Existing domestic companies pay 22% (effective ~25.17%). This was announced in September 2019 to boost manufacturing investment.

✅ Answer: B) November 8, 2016PM Modi announced demonetisation on November 8, 2016. ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes ceased to be legal tender from midnight. New ₹500 and ₹2,000 notes were introduced. The ₹2,000 note was later withdrawn from circulation in 2023.

✅ Answer: C) Petrol and DieselPetroleum products (petrol, diesel, ATF, natural gas, crude oil) are currently outside the GST framework. They are taxed separately by the Centre (excise duty) and States (VAT). Including them in GST is a major pending reform.

✅ Answer: B) Preventing tax avoidance through artificial transactionsGAAR (General Anti-Avoidance Rules) allows tax authorities to deny tax benefits if the main purpose of a transaction is tax avoidance. It targets artificial arrangements designed to reduce tax liability without genuine business purpose.

✅ Answer: B) 15% of book profitMAT (Minimum Alternate Tax) is levied at 15% of book profit. It ensures that companies with large book profits but low taxable income (due to deductions) pay a minimum tax. MAT credit can be carried forward for 15 years. Companies opting for the new 22% corporate tax rate are exempt from MAT.

✅ Answer: B) Protect domestic industry from foreign goods sold below costAnti-dumping duty is imposed when foreign goods are sold in India below their cost of production (dumping). It protects domestic industries from unfair competition. This is allowed under WTO rules. Example: India has imposed anti-dumping duty on Chinese steel, chemicals, and other products.

✅ Answer: A) 11-12%India’s Tax-GDP ratio is approximately 11-12%, which is low compared to developed countries (OECD average ~34%). This is due to the large informal economy, widespread tax evasion, narrow tax base, and agricultural income exemption. Improving the Tax-GDP ratio is a key fiscal challenge.