A COMPARATIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS OF INDIA’S GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (GST) AND NEPAL’S VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT) SYSTEM: IMPLICATIONS FOR CROSS-BORDER TRADE AND TAX POLICY REFORM

I’m preparing a PhD thesis chapter that contrasts India’s Goods & Services Tax with Nepal’s Value Added Tax while analysing the cross-border implications that arise when goods, services and digital products move between the two jurisdictions. I need a fully referenced, publication-ready research paper that:

• Opens with a rigorous historical narrative charting the evolution of VAT in Nepal and GST in India, highlighting key legislative milestones, policy shifts and political drivers.
• Moves into a doctrinal and empirical comparison of the present frameworks—rate structures, input-credit mechanics, compliance architecture, exemptions and dispute-resolution mechanisms.
• Dedicates separate, data-rich sections to cross-border taxation pressures on the e-commerce, manufacturing and services sectors, supported by case law, bilateral agreements and trade-flow statistics.
• Critically evaluates how divergent indirect-tax models affect competitiveness, supply-chain design and revenue leakage across the open border.
• Concludes with policy recommendations and areas for harmonisation or future research.

Acceptance criteria
1. 15 pages, excluding bibliography and appendices.
2. Minimum 80 recent academic or official sources, cited consistently in APA 7th (EndNote/Zotero file included).
3. Originality report showing ≤10 % similarity.
4. Tables, charts or infographics (editable) illustrating comparative data.
5. Delivered in Word and PDF, with all underlying datasets in Excel/CSV.

If you have prior work on South Asian indirect-tax regimes or access to primary government documents, please mention it so I can gauge how quickly we can finalise the outline and milestones.