The 'One-Ness' of One Nation, One Tax: Travails of Legislating GST in India

Abstract

A decade long passage of the GST Bill in India was an exercise in testing the strength of the Indian federation. It was seen to be a touchstone of cooperative fiscal federalism. The GST was propounded as a “One Market, One Nation, One Tax” reform. In a centralized federation like India, how was this process negotiated? What were some of the issues that proved to be most contentious in arriving at a consensus, not only among the disparate states of the Union of India, but also between the Centre and States? In this paper, we analyze this much-touted GST tax reform in India using a top-down lens that investigates the process of legislating the GST in a federation. Our endeavor is to understand the accommodations and the trade-offs that were made to strike a balance in making this tax reform a truly one nation, one tax reform. All decisions pertaining to the legislation of the GST are taken by the GST council that comprises representatives from both the center and the state. Till February 2019, around 33 GST Council meetings were held, touching on several pertinent issues. All decisions have been brought in through consensus, and the provision of voting has not been used. GST was propounded as a revenue-neutral, price-neutral and efficient tax reform. Yet, a massive tax reform of such type would have gainers and losers. Based on the analysis of the GST council minutes, we have delineated the following topics that resulted in a lot of heated debate in the council meetings: Compensation to the states in lieu of loss of revenue Composition Levy Scheme Cross Empowerment GST and the Real Estate sector It should not come as a surprise, that in the short span of the implementation of the GST Act in the country, these very issues continue to plague its implementation. We also postulate some policy changes that would be required to deal with these roadblocks.