GST concessions 'too little, too late', says CPI; claims 8 out of 27 items' tax reduced exist only in Gujarat

New Delhi: Communist Party of India general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy on Saturday criticised the GST relief concessions, calling them “too little and too late”. Reddy accused the government of resorting to a gimmick and pointed out that 8 out of 27 items in which the relief has been given exist only in Gujarat. [caption id=“attachment_3796593” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy. Getty images[/caption] “This is a gimmick with an eye on elections in Gujarat. Reducing excise duty by Rs 2 on petrol and diesel is also an election tactic. Concession to exporters is a help to rich donors of the ruling party,” he said in a statement. The CPI leader also ridiculed the government saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment that Diwali came early with GST concessions is like his promise of ‘Achhe Din’ which never came. He said that the finance minister should accept his mistake in rolling out the Goods and Services Tax in a hurry, without proper preparations and with unreasonable tax slabs. The CPI leader also demanded that all taxes on petrol and diesel should be done away with and be brought under the GST within a reasonable slab. Reddy also wanted the government to hold a thorough review of all GST slabs with proper discussions with representatives from political parties, people and small businessmen.