Eight years of GST rollout: PwC India proposes three-slab construction, inclusion of petro-products to ease compliance

As the Goods and Services Tax (GST) marks eight years since its rollout, PwC India has known as for key reforms, together with a simplified three-rate construction and the phased inclusion of petroleum merchandise underneath the GST ambit, beginning with Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).The GST regime, launched on July 1, 2017, changed 17 native taxes and 13 cesses with a unified oblique tax framework. Monthly GST collections have grown from a mean of Rs 90,000 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.84 lakh crore in 2024-25. In April 2025, revenues peaked at a report Rs 2.37 lakh crore.In its report, PwC mentioned the time is ripe for aligning India’s GST system with international commerce dynamics and attracting better investments. “GST in India now stands at a critical juncture where aligning with global trade dynamics is essential,” the PwC report acknowledged, quoted PTI.Currently, GST has 4 tax slabs — 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. PwC has recommended lowering the framework to three tiers to minimise disputes, improve tax certainty, and simplify compliance. It additionally famous that sectors resembling electrical automobiles, aviation, and e-commerce are fighting inverted obligation buildings, main to credit score accumulation.The report additionally beneficial bringing petroleum merchandise underneath GST — starting with ATF — to resolve cascading tax results and enhance trade money flows. Petrol, diesel, pure gasoline, and different fuels stay outdoors GST and are nonetheless taxed underneath central excise and state VAT, in accordance to PTI.“A policy change that includes these items under GST, along with a system to protect state revenues, would simplify the tax structure, ease cash flow issues for businesses, and support the original goals of GST,” the report added.States have been reluctant to settle for such reforms due to income issues. In the GST Council assembly held in December 2024, a proposal to embody ATF underneath GST was rejected by a number of states.