Cap GST rate at 18 per cent, says Opposition

Chennai: Contending that GST rates for more than 200 products were reduced only with "an eye" on Gujarat Assembly elections, Congress and the DMK on Saturday demanded that the Union Government should cap GST rates at 18 per cent without any delay to reduce the burden of the common man.

Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Opposition Leader in Tamil Nadu Assembly M K Stalin and PMK MP Anbumani Ramadoss said in separate statements that it is high time that the GST rates are capped at 18 per cent instead of the highest bracket of 28 per cent that had cost millions of jobs and slowed down the economy.

Chidambaram, who has been vociferously demanding that the GST rates for various products be reduced both inside and outside Parliament, used sarcasm to comment on the GST Council reducing the rates of several products including chocolates and shampoo, from its current slabs.

"Thank you Gujarat. Your elections did what Parliament and common sense could not do. When GST rate is capped at 18%, this Govt would have learnt its lesson belatedly," Chidambaram wrote on his Twitter page. The senior Congress leader, now a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, said he and his party stood vindicated with the Friday's decision of the government to reduce GST rates of more than 150 products from 28 per cent to lower slabs after protests from various quarters.

"Congress is vindicated. I am vindicated. The merit of capping GST at 18% is now recognised. Congress party's next goal will be to push for one rate: RNR with an RNR plus and an RNR minus," the former minister said.

In a statement, DMK Working President said the tax rates were altered only with Gujarat Assembly elections in mind and asked the Government to follow the advice of its Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian who had advocated capping of GST rates at 18 per cent.

"Reduction of GST rates for 213 items should be seen just as a beginning and the government should be ready to reduce the rates of more products to take burden off the people. The Government should announce that GST rates will be capped at 18 per cent at one go, instead of convening the GST Council every now and then reducing the tax rates," Stalin said in the statement.