Best of BS Opinion: GST cess as opportunity, the rural push & more
The performance of the goods and services tax (GST) regime has looked up in the last couple of years, with the pace of the post-pandemic recovery growing faster than India’s overall tax revenues. Among the significant takeaways from this performance is the steady 7 per cent share of compensation cess – collected on such “demerit goods” as alcohol, coal, paan masala -- underlining the need for the GST Council to take an early decision on how this levy should be handled after it is withdrawn from April 2026. Should the cess be discontinued or subsumed in the existing structure? Ashok K Bhattacharya examines the issue and points out that, either way, the economy will benefit if an early decision is taken.
