Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram has welcomed the Centre's recent GST rationalisation and rate cuts but criticised the move as being "8 years too late".
In a post on X, Chidambaram said the current GST design and rates should not have been introduced in the first place, adding that the opposition had repeatedly warned against these issues for years, but their pleas were ignored.
"The GST rationalisation and the reduction in rates on a range of goods and services are WELCOME but 8 years TOO LATE. The current design of GST and the rates prevailing until today ought not to have been introduced in the first place. We have been crying hoarse for the last 8 years against the design and rates of GST, but our pleas fell on deaf ears," he wrote.
Chidambaram further questioned the government's timing for the reforms, speculating on the possible reasons behind the sudden change.
He suggested multiple economic and political factors that may have influenced the decision after eight years of delay, including the tariffs imposed on Indian goods to the US, as well as elections in Bihar that are to be held later this year.
"It will be interesting to speculate on what drove the government to make the changes: Sluggish growth? Rising household debt? Falling household savings? Elections in Bihar? Mr Trump and his tariffs? All of the above?" he added.
All India Trinamool Congress also reacted strongly, terming the GST rate rollback a "victory for common people" achieved after sustained pressure on the government.
The party highlighted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's earlier stand on insurance premium taxation, which West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee had criticised as "cruel" and "anti-people".
It further slammed the BJP-led NDA government for being "tone-deaf" and only acting "when cornered".
“A victory for common people. A victory wrested from a tone-deaf regime that only listens when forced. From day one, Smt.@MamataOfficial warned the Finance Minister that taxing insurance premiums was cruel, anti-people, and would deter families from securing their future, leaving them vulnerable to financial ruin in times of crisis,” the Mamata Banerjee-led party said in a post on X.
The ruling party in West Bengal also claimed that the Narendra Modi government “finally buckled under pressure”.
“This rollback proves that @BJP4India only acts when cornered. We will continue to fight every such Jono-Birodhi (anti-people) decision, in Parliament, on the streets, among the people,” it added.
Announcing the outcome of the 56th GST Council meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that all individual life insurance policies whether term life, ULIP or endowment policies and subsequent reinsurance are exempt from GST.
GST rates on common-use items ranging from hair oil to corn flakes and TVs were slashed after the all-powerful GST Council on Wednesday approved a complete overhaul of the tax regime.
Since its inception in July 2017, GST at the rate of 18 per cent was levied on premium paid towards health insurance and life insurance.
The 56th GST Council, chaired by Sitharaman and comprising ministers from all states, agreed on two tax rates of 5 and 18 per cent by moving products from the current 12 and 28 per cent slab to lower rates.