GST 2.0 should be 'good, simple tax', not 'growth suppressing tax': Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress on Saturday demanded an official discussion paper on GST 2.0 soon for a wider debate on it and said the reform should be towards a " Good and Simple Tax " in letter, spirit, and compliance, and not the " Growth Suppressing Tax " it has become.

Its assertion came a day after the PM announced that GST rates will be lowered by Diwali, bringing down prices of everyday use items.

Noting that a transformed GST 2.0 was a key pledge in the Congress manifesto for the 2024 LS elections, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the PM 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.

"Over the last seven years, the spirit of GST has been vitiated by an increased number of rates and the granting of multiple exemptions. The structure also seems to have facilitated evasion. There must be a drastic reduction in the number of rates," he said in a statement.

Ramesh said simplification of the rate structure 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, 2026. This must be extended to offset any revenue uncertainty from the rationalisation of the rate structure," he said.