Give GST Coucil Institutional

Context: There is a need for strengthening the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council through reforms in the tax structure, rates and broadening of the tax base.

Desirable GST Council Reforms

• Creation of an independent GST Council Secretariat: to offer professional advice on tax matters.
• Strengthened and autonomous GST council will minimise tax classification disputes and make compliance easy.
• Compensate states: for five years from 2017-18 for any shortfall in GST collections by increasing Centres borrowing power.
• Bring Tax Research Unit (TRU): under the GST Council for ensuring neutral, unbiased advice from top-notch professionals 
• Strengthen the council’s secretariat: by appointing competent tax-research officers from states or taxation expert of national stature as the Secretary General of GST Council.
•  Adopt Big-data analytics: to follow multiple audit trails on the income and production chain and decide rate changes.
• GST workload has increased due to subsumed 17 central and state taxes and 23 cesses.
• Check tax evasion: Transaction chain of key raw material must be followed up to unearth the value added escaping tax at the moment.
• Efficient tax system: By lowering and converging multiple tax rates, and reducing tax exemptions.
• Widen tax base: by inclusion of petroleum products, real estate and electricity duty in the GST framework.