Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has done justice to consumers by bringing the rates down compared to the previous Government.

She went on to say that the GST has increased tax buoyancy for both states and the central government. “GST has done justice to the consumers by bringing the rates down compared to the previous regime. Before GST was introduced, India’s indirect tax system was fragmented, where every state was effectively a distinct market for the industry as well as the consumer. GST has brought in greater tax buoyancy, as a result of which, more than your GSDP growth, your tax collection is growing. Therefore, both the centre and the states are getting benefits. We have to dispel the myth that states are losing out after joining hands for GST. Today, no state suffers after GST, and that is despite COVID,” said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

In a veiled attack on Rahul Gandhi for calling the GST the ‘Gabbar Singh’ tax and saying that the GST has increased the burden, the Union Finance Minister termed the statement shameful and said that the GST has actually brought relief for the common citizen.

“On hair oil, toothpaste, soaps, perfumes, and detergents, the average Pre-GST tax burden was almost 28 per cent, which was brought down to 18 per cent under GST. These are tangible numbers. So, somebody were to say, GST actually has brought in a burden, and I don’t want to repeat the full expression, but it is a fact that it is being called the ‘Gabbar Singh’ tax, which is a shame because this country should know. A step like GST actually brought relief to the common citizen,” said the Union Finance Minister.

Nirmala Sitharaman further added that many common-use items and services have been exempted from GST for the benefit of the people.

“Many common-use items and services have been exempted from GST altogether, such as Food Items that are not sold prepackaged and labelled–rice, wheat, flour, curd, etc. Services like Healthcare and Educational Services, Public Transportation services, and Agricultural services are also exempt from GST,” said Nirmala Sitharaman.

meanwhile, the gross goods and services tax (GST) revenue collection of India in the month of June stood at Rs 1,61,497 crore, 12 per cent higher than the revenue collected in the same month last year, the Ministry of Finance said on Saturday.

“The gross GST revenue collected in the month of June, 2023 is Rs 1,61,497 crore of which CGST is Rs 31,013 crore, SGST is Rs 38,292 crore, IGST is Rs 80,292 crore (including Rs 39,035 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 11,900 crore (including Rs 1,028 crore collected on import of goods). The government has settled Rs 36,224 crore to CGST and Rs 30,269 crore to SGST from IGST. The total revenue of Centre and the States in the month of June 2023 after regular settlement is Rs 67,237 crore for CGST and Rs 68,561 crore for the SGST,” said Ministry of Finance.

It is for the fourth time, the gross GST collection has crossed Rs. 1.60 lakh crore mark.