Goods and Service Tax (GST) could prove to be excellent tax reform in the long run. But in the short run, it is a messy and disruptive mechanism directly affecting the Indian economy, says Ashok Lahiri (former chief economic adviser (centre) and currently a member of 15 Finance Commission). He also suggested the concerned ruling to bring in more measures (in terms of tax compliance) to uplift the distorting economy.
Ashok Lahiri spoke in the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I) that GST could prove to be a boon in the long run but for now, it is just being a messy and disruptive mechanism resulting in very little revenue for the national treasury.
Going back to the date of GST implementation, Ashok Lahiri said that GST was not completely qualified for the launch in July 2017. The system therein required a set of crucial amendments that were skipped at that moment. The statement by Ashok Lahiri got its prestige as the Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra and the head of the finance committee at the time of GST implementation confirmed the same issue 
Prior to the statement by Lahiri, the issue was often raised in the last two years by the Bengal FM Amit Mitra. He was in fact among the protestors of hasty GST rollout.
The fact came out stating that six weeks before the launch of GST, the new tax rates were not decided for all the commodities. Also, certain rules related to the application of CGST, IGST and SGST 
Also, the delayed GST rollout could not have been better as claimed by the Opposition Parties, said Lahiri.
