In GST, a tale of two obnoxious levies

From the start on July 1, 2017, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been plagued by several anomalies. The GST Council — the all-powerful body to decide the tax architecture and rates on various items — could have adopted a proactive stance, anticipated problems and taken steps to nip them in the bud. Unfortunately, most of the time, it has been reactive. As a resu…