Punjab FM Badal calls for a fresh look at GST structure

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Thursday called for a fresh look at the GST structure saying the current system has failed.

Speaking at the sidelines of the India Economic Summit here, Badal said there is a need to harmonise GST rates with similar goods taxed at similar rates and desist cutting rates around state elections as a favour.

"Punjab has been consistently opposing the design of the current GST. It is actually a badly designed GST," he told reporters here.

Badal further said that states and media were told that once GST comes in tax collections would go up, exports would become competitive. It will actually simplify things and GDP will grow.

"GDP has not gone up, tax collections are consistently going down, exports become cumbersome. Filing of tax returns has actually become a nightmare," he claimed.

Hitting out at the way the Centre has gone about implementing GST, he said, "If I am not mistaken in the last two years we have had almost 4,000 changes in the GST law, changes and amendments for which they have to go to Parliament and state legislatures."
Suggesting ways to improve the current GST system, he said, "We would need rate harmonization and similar goods be taxed in similar rate. The GST network needs to be vastly improved."
Taking a dig at the BJP-led government at the Centre for pulling strings to suit its agenda, Badal said, "The arrogance which is there within the council, the idea of giving favours and knee jerk reactions, for example, if there is Gujarat election you immediately cut rates. We should desist from that."