Jaitley indicates fewer GST slabs may be possible in future

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday hinted that the government may consider reducing the slabs under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, once the system settles down.

According to a report in Livemint, Jaitley indicated that the 12 per cent and 18 per cent GST slabs could be integrated into one slab.

Speaking at the India Summit, he said “I do see a situation where, assuming tax compliance remaining high and the transition smooth, the GST Council, the first federal institution, which is sensitive to the challenges of time, can take the appropriate decision (on tax slabs) taking into account it’s impact on inflation”.

As it is improbable to tax luxury cars and items of daily consumption under the same slab, he said, the GST Council had chosen to keep 4 tax slabs. The 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent slabs were chosen keeping in mind the different income groups among consumers.

Jaitley’s statement comes after it was revealed on Wednesday that the government has received Rs92,283 crore as GST return from 3.9 million taxpayers.