Congress to push for one rate in GST: Chidambaram

The Congress party on Saturday lampooned the Finance Ministry for taking four months to see common sense and make sweeping changes to the Goods and Services Tax.

Congress leaders said their demand for making GST a simple tax law was vindicated and have now set sights of forcing the government to reduce the tax slabs from the current five to three. "The Congress party's next goal will be to push for one rate: RNR (revenue neutral rate) with an RNR plus and RNR minus," former Union finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said.

In remarks dripping with sarcasm, Chidambaram said, "The Ministry of Finance must be complimented for 'improving' macro-economic situation in four months and 10 days! Four months and 10 days is the time taken for commonsense to germinate, flower and ripen into a fruit."

He said the "shower of changes" to the GST was made possible only because of the Gujarat Assembly elections. The BJP is facing pressure from the trader-dominated state that had made its disappointment known over the shoddy implementation of GST.

"Thank you Gujarat. Your elections did what Parliament and common sense could not do," he said, adding that the government had finally recognised the merit of capping GST at 18%.

The Congress has been batting for capping all taxes under GST regime at 18%, a demand rejected by the government.

"When GST rate is capped at 18%, this government would have learnt its lesson belatedly," Chidambaram said in a series of tweets posted late on Friday night and Saturday morning.