NEW DELHI: Amid claims from the BJP-led NDA government that it has rationalised the GST slabs for the greater economic welfare of ordinary people, the Congress on Saturday questioned whether the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA), established to monitor GST rate cuts passed on to consumers, would be given a fresh lease of life.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary for communications, Jairam Ramesh said that the NAA was created under Section 171 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, to monitor whether GST rate reductions lead to a decrease in consumer prices. “On September 30th, 2024, the Modi Government issued a notification virtually abolishing the NAA with effect from April 1, 2025,” he said, adding that the Modi government had issued a notification on 30 September 2024, which effectively abolished the NAA from April 2025.
“Will the NAA now have a fresh lease of life? How will it be ensured that the rate cuts do not benefit only a favoured few?” Ramesh asked in his post. His query follows the GST Council’s recent rationalisation of GST rates removing the 12% and 28% tax slabs, effective from September 22 this year.
A few days ago, Ramesh had also posted that the INC has long been advocating for GST 2.0, which would reduce the number of rates and cut taxes on many mass-consumption items.
He said that the Union Finance Minister made the announcement after the GST Council meeting. “However, even before the GST Council meeting, the Prime Minister had already proclaimed the substance of its decision in his Independence Day speech of 15 August. Is the GST Council to be reduced to a formality?”
He also added that the very design of GST 1.0 was flawed, a point the INC had raised back in July 2017 when the PM had made one of his typical U-turns by introducing GST.