New Delhi, Aug 16 Congress party on Saturday welcomed the proposed reforms in the Goods and Services (GST) tax, however, with a pointed swipe at the Centre, claiming that it kept dragging its feet on the crucial issue for seven long years.
In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a Diwali gift for the citizens of the country as he announced that the next generation GST reforms would be rolled out before the festival of lights.
Reacting to PM Modi's announcement, Jairam Ramesh said that the Congress party has been pressing for "sweeping reforms" in the GST, but the Centre kept dithering over the issue. He also said that reforming the GST was one of its key promises in the 2024 election manifesto.
Taking to X, Jairam Ramesh wrote, "Over the last seven years, the spirit of GST has been vitiated by increased number of rates and the granting of multiple exemptions. The structure also seems to have facilitated evasion."
"Yesterday, Prime Minister seems to have finally woken up to the fact that economic growth will simply not accelerate unless this transformation takes place and increases private consumption and private investment,” he added.
He further said that the Congress demands an official discussion paper on GST 2.0 very soon so that there can be an informed and wider debate on this vital and pressing national issue.
"GST 2.0 should be truly a Good and Simple Tax (GST) in letter, spirit, and compliance, not like the Growth Suppressing Tax (GST) it has become," he said.
He further called for a drastic reduction in the number of rates, stating that its simplification is essential but must be done in a manner that minimises revenue uncertainty to states and also eliminates the classification disputes that have become so common.
"The GST compensation cess expires on March 31, 2006. This must be extended to offset any revenue uncertainty from the rationalisation of the rate structure," he added.
He further suggested, "The widespread concerns of MSMEs, the major employment generators in the economy, must be addressed meaningfully. Apart from major procedural changes, this will involve further increasing the thresholds that must apply to interstate supplies as well. Sectoral issues that have surfaced, for instance, in textiles, tourism, exporters, handicrafts and agricultural inputs must be tackled.”
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