Niti Aayog member bats for 2 slabs under GST regime

26 Dec 2019 Evaluate

Government think-tank Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand has made a case for only two slabs under the goods and service tax (GST) regime as against the multiple slabs currently. He said rates should be revised annually if required. He noted that when a large taxation reforms like GST are brought in, there are always teething problems but soon they stabilise. He added that most of the countries took a long time for GST stabilization.

The Niti Aayog member is also strictly against frequent changes in GST rates as it leads to problems. He said besides frequent demand for a reduction in the rates on various goods and services, there has also been a clamour for a slash in the number of tax slabs. He also said ‘It has become the tendency of every sector to ask for lower GST. I feel GST issues are much larger than asking for rates. And, we should not fiddle with rates or change rates frequently... We should not have many rates. Have only two rates.’

Chand further said that the focus should be on the steady increase in revenue collection from the new indirect tax regime rather than tinkering with rates. He prescribed that if at all rates need to be changed, it should be done annually. On demands of lower GST on process food, like dairy products, he said the 5 percent GST on such products is very reasonable. He added that while every sector is demanding a lower rate, they should also understand governments need revenue to spend on development works. 

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