'Complexity is a bureaucrat's delight': Ex-CEA K Subramanian reacts to 18% GST on caramelised popcorn

Former Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian has also joined the league of those, who criticised 18 per cent GST on caramelised popcorn. In a tweet, Subramanian, who served as CEA from 2018 to 2021, said: "Complexity is a bureaucrat's delight and citizens' nightmare."

The former CEA's reaction was in response to a tweet by former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai. 

On Saturday, the GST Council recommended 5% GST on salted popcorn, 12% on pre-packaged and labelled popcorn, and 18% on caramel popcorn. The move sparked widespread reactions, with many blasting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. 

Pai said this was "silly and complex" and it "will lead to tax terrorism". Tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sitharaman, Pai said the citizens are becoming victims of "bad policy" which will make them "hostages to rent-seeking officials and create disputes". "GST needs to be simplified, not this."

Former CFO Arvind Subramanian also criticised the move, and called it a "national tragedy". "This is a national tragedy, violating the spirit of the Good & Simple Tax the GST was meant to be," he said in a tweet. "The folly is compounded because instead of at least moving in the direction of simplicity we are veering to greater complexity, difficulty of enforcement, and just irrationality. Sad."

Security analyst Sushant Sareen said attacked the "brainless bureaucracy" and "clueless politicians" who he said penalise anything that remotely resembles upgrading products. "Apparently for these socialist geniuses unpackaged popcorn is a necessity, packaged ones are comfort food, and caramelised are luxury," he said on the new taxation. "Next they will say flavoured popcorn with cheese are sin goods and taxed at whatever ridiculous rate they decide." 

Sareen said that the Good and Simple Tax is neither good nor simple, "it is tax till you kill the golden goose model". "Even basic common sense on economics escapes these people because socialistic pretensions outweigh everything else," he added. 

However, the finance ministry said that there is no new imposition of any tax in this regard and is merely a clarification as certain field units were demanding different tax rates on the same. "Therefore, it is a clarification being recommended by the GST Council to settle the disputes arising out of interpretation."

Meanwhile, the GST Council postponed a decision on reducing taxes on health and life insurance. Some members of the Council, chaired by Sitharaman, felt that more deliberations were required before a final decision could be arrived at on insurance taxation. 

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, who heads the panel on GoM on insurance, said one more meeting is required to take a call on taxation of group, individual, and senior citizen's policies. 

Besides, the report of the GoM on rate rationalisation, which had recommended tweaks in 148 items, was not tabled before the Council. "We will submit the GoM report on rate rationalisation in the next meeting of Council," said Chaudhary who is the convenor of the panel.