'Decision not just for Bihar, but for whole country': MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on GST reforms

New Delhi [India], September 5 (ANI): Union Minister of State (MoS) for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, took a jibe at the Opposition and said that the move to rationalise GST rates to two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent has not been brought for the Bihar Assembly polls.
Speaking to ANI on Thursday, MoS Pankaj Chaudhary said that the GST has been implemented successfully over the last eight years.
"Everyone knows the circumstances under which the GST was implemented. Efforts were going on to introduce it for many years before Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister. Now it has been eight years since GST was successfully implemented... There is some or the other election which is always going on in the country, and this decision is not just for Bihar, but for the whole country," he said.
He alleged that the Opposition is trying to take credit for the GST reforms.
Chaudhary said, "There has been a major reform in the GST. Prime Minister Narendra Modi felt the need to introduce reforms and, on 15 August, announced their implementation ahead of the festive season. People of all sections of the society will benefit from these reforms... The opposition always tries to take credit for the government's work."
Earlier, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel alleged that the government rationalised the GST in the wake of the Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled to be held later this year.
Slamming the Centre, Baghel reiterated Rahul Gandhi's "Gabbar Singh Tax" remark.
Speaking to ANI on Thursday, the Congress leader said, "Rahul Gandhi called it Gabbar Singh Tax. PM Narendra Modi betrayed the country by calling it One Nation One Tax, but this tax was collected in five slabs... Small traders were the worst hit because of this tax."
"The opposition was always against it. The government has finally woken up, but it is because the Bihar elections are close," he added.
The 56th GST council meeting decided to rationalise GST rates to two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent by merging the 12 per cent and 28 per cent rates.
Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced the decision on September 3, after she chaired the GST council meeting. This has reduced the previous GST slabs from 5 per cent, which consisted of essential goods and services, including food and kitchen items, agricultural equipment, handicrafts and small industries, and also medical equipment and diagnostic kits.
While the 18 per cent slab consists of a standard rate for most goods and services, including automobiles such as small cars and motorcycles (up to 350cc), consumer goods like electronic items, household goods, and some professional services.
Additionally, there is a 40 per cent slab for luxury and sin goods, including tobacco and pan Masala, products such as cigarettes, bidis, and aerated sugary beverages, as well as luxury vehicles, high-end motorcycles above 350cc, yachts, and helicopters.
Notably, some essential services and educational items are fully exempt from GST, including individual health, family floater, and life insurance. (ANI)