Commerce in India Today

Commerce in present-day India shows both continuity and rapid change. Traditional, unorganised retail — the neighbourhood kirana store and local markets — continues to serve the majority of Indian consumers, but it now operates alongside a fast-growing organised retail sector of supermarkets, branded chain stores, and shopping malls. Layered on top of both is the rise of e-commerce: online marketplaces and digital platforms, supported by widespread smartphone use, growing internet access, and digital payment systems, have changed how a large and growing share of goods and services reach Indian consumers, letting a buyer in a small town access sellers located anywhere in the country.

A major structural reform reshaping how trade is taxed across India is the Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduced with effect from 1 July 2017. GST replaced a fragmented set of separate central and state indirect taxes — including excise duty, service tax, value-added tax (VAT), and octroi — with a single, unified tax structure applied uniformly across state borders. By removing the earlier tangle of multiple taxes and checkpoints between states, GST has generally eased the movement of goods across India, supporting the growth of organised, pan-India trade and logistics networks. …