Need For Simplified GST: Cong

New Delhi: With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserting that the GST rates will come down further, the Congress on Sunday said any changes in the tax must be more comprehensive than a mere rate reduction and stressed the need for a radically-simplified and less-punitive GST 2.0. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said his party had envisaged a GST 2.0 - a truly ‘Good and Simple Tax’ - in its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and it remains committed to that vision.

“The ball is now in the Union government’s court -- will they take this historic opportunity?” Ramesh asked in a statement.

“The Finance Minister has declared that GST rates will be reduced soon. The Indian National Congress reiterates that any changes in GST must be more comprehensive than a mere rate reduction,” he said.

Reducing the tax on caramel popcorn, without fundamentally reforming a system that has three rates of tax for popcorn, is just window-dressing, the former Union minister added. The need of the hour is a radically-simplified and less-punitive GST 2.0, he said.