Under GST, taxes not gone up even on a single item but reduced on many: FM
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that indirect tax under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has significantly reduced over the years since its implementation.
The minister stated that the average tax under the previous indirect tax regime was 15.8 per cent under GST it has now come down to 11.3 per cent.
Nirmala Sitharaman’s response came to question by Nadimul Haque, Member of Parliament from the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) representing West Bengal.
Haque had asked whether the government planned to simplify the GST structure by reducing the number of tax slabs, similar to the reforms made in income tax.
Highlighting the reduction in GST rates over time, the Finance Minister said “Earlier the tax levied on everyday item 15.8 per cent tax could have been levied without additionally burdening the buyer, consumer. If that was the rate at which the GST rates were brought in, today… the rate has come down to 11.3 per cent. That is the level of reduction of rates which have happened in the GST Council”.
She said under GST, taxes have not gone up even on a single item but it has reduced on many items.
Speaking further, the Finance Minister clarified that the rates are not decided solely by the central government. It is not a singular decision of the Government of India; it has to be a decision of the Council, she said.
