Union Minister of State (MoS) for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, jibed at the Opposition and said that the move to rationalise GST rates to two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent has not been brought for the Bihar Assembly polls.
Speaking to ANI, MoS Pankaj Chaudhary said that the GST has been implemented successfully over the last eight years.
“Everyone knows the circumstances under which the GST was implemented. Efforts were going on to introduce it for many years before Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister. Now it has been eight years since GST was successfully implemented… There is some or the other election which is always going on in the country, and this decision is not just for Bihar, but for the whole country,” Chaudhary said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Wednesday a major cut in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates on essential goods, cars, farm equipment, and electronics.
The GST rate cut move is being seen as a major reform aimed at providing relief to households, businesses, and the healthcare sector. The GST Council has simplified tax rates by limiting them to 5 per cent and 18 per cent, effective 22 September. A special 40 per cent rate will apply to luxury items like high-end cars and tobacco.
The Congress party said the Centre’s recent GST rationalisation and rate cuts, but criticised the move as being “8 years too late”. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, said the current GST design and rates should not have been introduced in the first place, adding that the opposition had repeatedly warned against these issues for years, but their pleas were ignored. Chidambaram also questioned the timing of the move, trying to link it with the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar.
Chaudhary alleged that the Opposition is trying to take credit for the GST reforms. “There has been a major reform in the GST. Prime Minister Narendra Modi felt the need to introduce reforms and, on 15 August, announced their implementation ahead of the festive season. People of all sections of the society will benefit from these reforms… The opposition always tries to take credit for the government’s work.”
Earlier, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel alleged that the government rationalised the GST in the wake of the Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled to be held later this year.
Slamming the Centre, Baghel reiterated Rahul Gandhi’s “Gabbar Singh Tax” remark.
“Rahul Gandhi called it Gabbar Singh Tax. PM Narendra Modi betrayed the country by calling it One Nation One Tax, but this tax was collected in five slabs… Small traders were the worst hit because of this tax,” he said.
This decision is not just for Bihar, but for the whole country.
The 56th GST council meeting decided to rationalise GST rates to two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent by merging the 12 per cent and 28 per cent rates.
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