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Congress leader Ranjeet Ranjan on Tuesday slammed the government over the move to have three different GST rates on popcorn and said people were already reeling under high prices and an effort is being made to divert from real issues.
She said the government should be "ashamed" of the decision to impose such high GST. The Congress leader said cultivation of maize (source for popcorn) takes place in Bihar and other places of the country and people sometimes give it for free. The Congress MP also slammed the BJP-led government over price rise. She said earlier Rs 2000 worth of vegetables lasted a month but now they barely last a week. Earlier, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh slammed different GST tax slabs for popcorns and called it absurd. "The absurdity of three different tax slabs for popcorn under GST, which has unleashed a tsunami of memes on social media, only brings to light a deeper issue: the growing complexity of a system that was supposed to be a Good and Simple Tax. GST evasion is significant, input tax credit fraud is common, and the number of bogus companies set up to 'game' the GST system runs into thousands. Tracking of supply chains is weak, the registration process is flawed, advantages are being taken of loopholes in turnover exemptions, compliance requirements are still cumbersome, and misclassification of goods is frequent," he said in a post on X. "Recent data on tax frauds uncovered by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) reveal GST evasion of Rs 2.01 lakh crore in FY24. With the Union Budget now just 40 days away, will the PM and FM summon the courage to launch a complete overhaul and institute a GST 2.0?" he added. (ANI)
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