Scope For Fewer Tax Slabs Once GST Becomes Revenue Neutral, Says Jaitley

The government will consider fewer tax slabs under Goods and Services Tax once the new indirect tax regime becomes revenue neutral, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

“We have space for improvement eventually...to think in terms of bigger reforms such as lesser slabs, but for that we have to become revenue neutral plus,” Jaitley said while addressing the 67th batch of Indian Revenue Services officers at National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics, Faridabad. “To ensure this, we have to certainly ensure larger presence.”

The government's effort has been to tax essential commodities used by the common man at a lower rate compared to other items, he said. There are four tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent under GST, and a cess is levied on demerit goods over and above the highest GST rate.

There is still space and scope for improvement in the new indirect tax regime, and the government would take steps to reduce compliance burden on small taxpayers, Jaitley said.