New government should hit the ground running on reforming the GST

The goods and services tax (GST) will require attention from the new government that comes in later this week. First,  GST must improve its coverage. Today, real estate and electricity are outside its ambit. While the Centre and states have decided to delay bringing  petroleum formally under GST, they have agreed to continue levying excise and value added tax ( VAT ) duty on it. There is…