After rationalising income tax rates in the Union Budget, the government may consider rationalising Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates as well. According to Moneycontrol, sources said that the process has already begun and the Centre is working towards getting all states on board. "The process of rationalising GST is already underway and we want to ensure consensus among states before finalising any changes," sources said, according to the report.

This step has been taken after the budget announcement presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, in which she provided a big relief to the middle class by exempting individuals with income up to Rs 12 lakh from income tax. The Finance Minister said in her speech that due to these changes, the government will have to spend Rs 1 lakh crore. The government has estimated the GST growth rate to be 10.9 percent for the coming financial year, which is higher than the nominal growth of 10.1 percent estimated in the budget. Formation of GoM The government had constituted a ministerial panel, Group of Ministers (GoM), to examine rationalizing GST rates. In December, the panel had reached a consensus on changing tax rates on about 150 items. Let us tell you that since the implementation of the indirect tax system in July 2017, there have been several amendments in the GST rate structure. Initially designed with four primary tax slabs - 5 percent, 12 percent, 18 percent and 28 percent.