GST: Great achievement, but weaknesses remain, says CEA Arvind Subramanian

The GST has been a great achievement, but it does suffer from weaknesses

After the constitutional amendment bill that midwifed it, and with the passage of the four laws that have given it elaborate flesh and substance, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has entered its last and critical phase: the determination of the GST’s rate structure. 

Late last year, there was agreement on five broad GST slabs: 0 (the exempted category), 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent; there was also agreement that cesses — to finance possible compensation to the states — would be levied on certain demerit goods (tobacco and related products, aerated beverages, luxury cars etc). Now is the