Govt losing revenue due to GST, should be neutral with single rate: Debroy

Debroy said the public as well as members of the GST Council want the 28% tax rate to come down, but "no one wants the 0 and 3% tax rates to go up"

Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister Chairman Bibek Debroy on Tuesday said the government was losing revenue due to the GST, which should be revenue neutral with a single rate.

Speaking at an event organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce here, he however said that GST has led to a lot of simplification.

"The ideal GST is one that has a single rate, and it was meant to be revenue neutral. According to calculations by the finance ministry when GST was first introduced, the average rate should be at least 17 per cent. But, the existing rate is 11.4 per cent. Because of GST, the government is losing revenue," the eminent economist said.

Debroy said the public as well as members of the GST Council want the 28 per cent tax rate to come down, but "no one wants the 0 and 3 per cent tax rates to go up".

"That way, we will never have a simplified GST," he said at the 'Special Session on Resilient and Self-Sufficient India'.

A "lot of abuse" of GST provisions was taking place, he said without elaborating.