Modi govt's 7-rate tax structure a 'mockery of GST', says P Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader said the BJP should have worked to forge a consensus on three rates

The goods and services tax (GST) regime rolled out by the Narendra Modi government on July 1, with its “seven or more rates”, is a “mockery” of the GST that was originally planned, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Thursday.

The former finance minister said the Congress was “convinced that the administration and businesses — especially small and medium businesses — were unprepared or underprepared for the GST roll-out”. 

Chidambaram said businesses wanted some more time and the roll-out should have been deferred by two months. Also, the GST Network (GSTN) should have been put through a trial run,