Topic Of The Day:-“The Indian version”
In the Indian context, given that the reform had to be evolved by taking into account the views of 29 States, two Union Territories with legislatures and the Union government, compromises are inevitable and it is impossible to expect the structure of the tax to be ideal. As stated by Bird and Gendron, some bad initial features may be an essential compromise to get the tax accepted in the first place. It would have been preferable to evolve the structure with two rates, one lower on items of common consumption and another general rate on consumer durables and luxuries. Notably, given that the VAT in the earlier regime had predominantly two rates, it should have been possible to convince the States of the need to fix the GST rates at two rather than four. In addition, the levy of three rates of cesses has further complicated the structure. Having four tax rates and three rates of cesses should have been avoided. As mentioned above, multiple rates create problems of classification, inverted duty structure and large-scale lobbying. It enormously complicates the technology platform to ensure input tax credit mechanism. It therefore appears desirable to move immediately towards three slabs with the final goal of reducing the slabs to two. It would also have been desirable for the “fitment committee” to evolve the rates by thinking afresh instead to merely adding up the excise and VAT rates to fit the item to the nearest rate decided. This is particularly relevant in the case of commodities which are predominantly inputs as in the earlier VAT regime they were placed in the lower rate category. Hopefully, the GST Council will act soon on this.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Herald
Meaning: A person or thing viewed as a sign that something is about to happen.
Example:”They considered the first primroses as the herald of spring”
Synonyms: Harbinger, Sign
2) Concern
Meaning: Make (someone) anxious or worried.
Example: “The roof of the barn concerns me because eventually it will fall in”
Synonyms: Worry, Disturb
3) Grappling
Meaning: Struggle to deal with or overcome (a difficulty or challenge).
Example: “Other towns are still grappling with the problem”
Synonyms: Tackle, Confront
Antonyms: Avoid
4) Forthcoming
Meaning: About to happen or appear.
Example:”The forthcoming cricket season”
Synonyms: Imminent, Impending
Antonyms: Past, Current
5) Tweak
Meaning: Twist or pull (something) sharply.
Example: “He tweaked the boy’s ear”
Synonyms: Twist, Tug
6) Reap
Meaning: Receive (something, especially something beneficial) as a consequence of one’s own or another’s actions.
Example:”The company is poised to reap the benefits of this investment”
Synonyms: Receive, Obtain
7) Repealed
Meaning: Revoke or annul (a law or act of parliament).
Example:”The legislation was repealed five months later”
Synonyms: Revoke, Rescind
Antonyms: Introduce, Enact
8) Bargains
Meaning: An agreement between two or more people or groups as to what each will do for the other.
Example:”Bargains between political parties supporting the government”
Synonyms: Agreement, Arrangement
9) Contentious
Meaning: Causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial.
Example:”A contentious issue”
Synonyms: Controversial, Disputable
10) Lobbying
Meaning: Seek to influence (a legislator) on an issue.
Example:”They insist on their right to lobby Congress”
Synonyms: Importune, Persuade
11) Plunge
Meaning: Fall suddenly and uncontrollably.
Example: “A car swerved to avoid a bus and plunged into a ravine”
Synonyms: Crash, Plummet
12) Anomalies
Meaning: Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.
Example:”There are a number of anomalies in the present system”
Synonyms: Oddity, Peculiarity
13) Inevitable
Meaning: Certain to happen; unavoidable.
Example:”War was inevitable”
Synonyms: Unavoidable, Inescapable
Synonyms: Avoidable, Uncertain
14) Regime
Meaning: A government, especially an authoritarian one.
Example: “Ideological opponents of the regime”
Synonyms: Government, Rule
15) Predominantly
Meaning: Mainly; for the most part.
Example:”It is predominantly a coastal bird”
Synonyms: Mainly, Mostly
16) Enormously
Meaning: To a very great degree or extent; considerably.
Example:”Quality of life varies enormously from one place to another”
Synonyms: Very, Extremely
Antonyms: Moderately, Slightly
17) Merely
Meaning: Just; only.
Example:”Gary, a silent boy, merely nodded”
Synonyms: Only, Purely
18) Inclusion
Meaning: The action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure.
Example: “They have been selected for inclusion in the scheme”
Synonyms: Incorporation, Addition
Antonyms: Exclusion, Omission
19) Augmenting
Meaning: Make (something) greater by adding to it; increase.
Synonyms: Increase, Raise
Antonyms: Decrease
20) Glitches
Meaning: A sudden, usually temporary malfunction or fault of equipment.
Example:”A draft version was lost in a computer glitch”
