'Why GST goals are changing': Chidambaram wants to know

New Delhi, Dec 26: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Modi government and sought to know what caused the change in the "declared goals" of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said, "Until yesterday a single standard rate of GST was a stupid idea. Since yesterday, it is the declared goal of the government!"

"Until yesterday capping GST at 18 per cent was impracticable. Since yesterday, the Congress party's original demand of an 18 per cent cap is the declared goal of the government!

"Until yesterday, the Chief Economic Adviser's RNR report to fix the standard rate at 15 per cent was in the dustbin. Yesterday it was retrieved and placed on the FM's table and was promptly accepted!" Chidambaram said.

The former Union Minister's tweets came barely two days after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley mooted the next stage of reforms of the goods and services tax (GST) would see the standard rate converging to around 15%-the midpoint of the existing standard rates of 12% and 18%.

In a blog titled 'Eighteen Months of the GST', Jaitley outlined the positive impact of GST and said "the 28% slab is now a dying slab".

"A future roadmap could well be to work towards a single standard rate instead of two standard rates of 12 per cent and 18 per cent. It could be a rate at some mid-point between the two. Obviously, this will take some reasonable time when the tax will rise significantly," Jaitley said in the Facebook post.

Jaitley's GST blog came months ahead of the 2019 general elections.