Gabbar Singh Tax is a Knee-Jerk Criticism of GST that does our Institutions a Disservice: FM

The opposition’s critique of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the ‘Gabbar Singh Tax‘, according to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is a knee-jerk reaction that is a disservice to the country’s institutions. During a post-Budget discussion with industry in the financial capital, the Union minister responded to a GST suggestion by explaining that the GST council consists of all states and the Centre, with the latter having just a one-third impact on the decisions made.

It should be noted that Congressman Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly referred to the GST as the ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’, a fictional character from a popular 1970s film. Gandhi has pointed to the GST as one of the reasons for the slowing economy.

“When we try to tarnish the GST for whatever cause, deliberately or unknowingly, we are weakening the institution that has been formed with all of the states on board,” Sitharaman added.

“Many knee-jerk reactions of… well GST has now become a… they are disserving our own country’s institutions,” she added.

The GST, according to Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj, is a very intriguing thing since neither the states nor the federal government can decide on it, and judgments are made based on a committee structure that reviews the process.

The ministry officials were replying to a question from J D Patil, L&T’s Whole Time Director for the Defense Business, who wondered why his company couldn’t transfer tax credits from one state to another. Companies, he added, are unable to transfer credit between verticals in which they operate.

Source : Economic Times