GST rate cuts have been offset by ‘galloping’ inflation: Congress

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Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

The Congress said on Monday (September 21, 2026) that the impact of GST rate cuts on a range of commodities was being eroded by “galloping inflation”, with prices of several consumer products returning to pre-cut levels within a year.

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh, sharing a media report on the issue, said the GST rationalisation announced in September 2025 had been “long overdue”, but its impact on consumption had been uneven.

“The GST rate cuts in September 2025 were proclaimed to be game changers. They had, of course, been long overdue — but to boast of them as magic wands was hyperbole. In fact, their impact on boosting consumption has been mixed at best. For instance, automobile sales benefited while apparel sales did not,” Mr. Ramesh said in a post on X.

“Now comes evidence that the effect of GST rate cuts on various commodities is being neutralised by ‘galloping inflation’,” he said.

The prices of several consumer goods had returned to nearly pre-GST cut levels within a year without any significant increase in consumption, Mr. Ramesh claimed.

He also linked the issue to the broader state of the economy, questioning the narrative around India’s growth based on headline GDP figures.

“Headline quarterly GDP numbers may give momentary elation to the ruling establishment overlooking their imperfections, but there are many faultlines in the India growth story that are simply not being acknowledged by the PM and his brigade of cheerleaders,” he said.

“Neither is consumption buoyant across income segments nor is private investment booming,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding that real wages were declining.

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