Scam record · 2017 · Policy harm
GST: one nation tax, years of rate and rule churn
GST replaced a mess of older levies, then rewrote itself through endless Council rate changes and CGST rule amendments. Big firms adapted. Small traders paid accountants, lived in notice fear, and still hear 'ease of doing business' speeches.
One tax was the promise. The GST Council kept pruning the 28% list, shifting slabs, and patching refund and e-way bill rules. That can be honest course-correction. It is also compliance churn.
Independent GST rule tallies show hundreds of CGST rule amendments since July 2017. Each change is a learning cost for a kirana, a workshop, or a transporter who does not keep a tax bench.
Government credit: wider formal tax base and digital filing. Citizen complaint: inverted duty fights, delayed refunds in some years, and classification disputes that eat working capital.
Trishola does not call GST a scam. We list it as documented policy complexity with household and MSME cost. Pair it with demonetisation if someone claims the last decade was only 'reform success stories'.
What is proven here
Proof level: contested policy design. Official Council rate changes and frequent rule amendments are documented. 'Fraud' language from party pamphlets is political framing, not a court finding.
Sources
- CBIC: GST Council rate-change press release (23rd meeting) (Official)
- GST Council / CBIC materials hub (Official)
- TaxReply: CGST Rules amendment tallies (secondary tracker) (Open data)
- INC framing (secondary): 8 years, 8 frauds (Document)