It's time for GST rate cuts

The opportunity arising out of high GST collections should not be squandered

The May 2018 numbers for revenue under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) have raised concerns over a slowdown in collections. Such fears, however, are largely unfounded. Drawing conclusions from a particular month’s collection figure coming in at less than Rs 1 trillion ( the May 2018 number put it at Rs 0.94 trillion) is as flawed as judging revenue buoyancy without taking into account the factor of seasonality and the annual revenue target. On both counts, the GST revenue numbers released last week should not be a major source of worry over tax collections.
 
Remember that these numbers