GS Paper II 2017 · Q11
15 marks · 250 words Constitution: evolution, features & basic structure X-Ray · Core #2Explain the salient features of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016. Do you think it is efficacious enough “to remove cascading effect of taxes and provide for common national market for goods and services”?
Approach · directive: “explain... do you think”
What it asks · Set out what the Amendment changed (new articles, GST Council, subsumed taxes, compensation, exclusions), then judge whether it achieves a cascade-free common market or falls short.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Explain the salient features of the 101st Amendment: new Articles, the GST Council, subsumed taxes, exclusions and compensation
- Judge whether it is efficacious enough to remove cascading and create a common national market: achievements, limits and a way forward
Open with · The 101st Amendment (2016) replaced a tax system split between Union levies (excise, service tax) and State levies (VAT, entry tax) with one shared Goods and Services Tax, rolled out on 1 July 2017.
Cover
- Article 246A: concurrent power of Parliament and State Legislatures to make GST laws; Article 269A: IGST on inter-State supply, collected by the Union and apportioned.
- Article 279A: GST Council with one-third Union and two-thirds State weighted votes and a three-fourths majority; clause (6) aims at a harmonised national market.
- Article 366(12A) defines GST; States assured 14% yearly revenue growth for five years; fuels deferred under Article 279A(5); alcohol for human consumption stays with States.
- Achievements: GST subsumed 17 large taxes and 13 cesses, removed check posts, and grew registrations from 60 lakh to about 1.51 crore (PIB).
- Gross GST collections reached a record ₹22.08 lakh crore in 2024–25, a sign of formalisation (PIB).
- Limits: fuel and alcohol exclusions break the credit chain; multiple slabs in 2017 (two main rates since 22 September 2025); compliance strain on small firms.
- Federal friction: in Mohit Minerals (2022) the Supreme Court held Council recommendations not binding on the Union and States; the States' assured revenue growth ran only five years.
- Way forward: phased entry of fuels by Council consensus, simpler MSME compliance and a standing dispute-resolution culture in the Council.
Close with · The Amendment is the right scaffold for 'One Nation-One Tax'; it becomes fully efficacious only when the Council, guided by Article 279A(6), brings fuels into the credit chain and keeps rates simple.
Add value (verified)
- Article 279A(5) defers the taxation of petroleum crude, diesel, petrol, natural gas and aviation turbine fuel under GST until the Council recommends a date, an important limit on the reform.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 279A(5) - Legislative Department ↗“The Goods and Services Tax Council shall recommend the date on which the goods and services tax be levied on petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas and aviation turbine fuel.”
- Article 279A(6) directs the GST Council to be guided by the need for a harmonised GST structure and a harmonised national market.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024) - Legislative Department ↗“shall be guided by the need for a harmonised structure of goods and services tax and for the development of a harmonised national market for goods and services”
- GST subsumed 17 large taxes and 13 cesses and removed check posts (PIB factsheet).One Nation-One Tax: Goods and Services Tax - PIB factsheet ↗“GST subsumed 17 large taxes and 13 cesses”
- Registered GST taxpayers grew from 60 lakh to about 1.51 crore (PIB, GST at eight years, 2025).Eight years of GST - PIB press note, 2025 ↗“The number of registered taxpayers has grown from 60 lakh to around 1.51 crore.”
- Gross GST collections reached a record ₹22.08 lakh crore in 2024–25, up 9.4 per cent year on year (PIB).Eight years of GST - PIB press note, 2025 ↗“In 2024–25, gross GST collections hit a record ₹22.08 lakh crore, marking a year-on-year growth of 9.4 per cent.”
- In Mohit Minerals (2022) the Supreme Court held that the recommendations of the GST Council are not binding on the Union and States.Supreme Court of India: Union of India v. Mohit Minerals Pvt. Ltd., judgment of 19 May 2022 (web.archive.org copy of the court's PDF) ↗“The recommendations of the GST Council are not binding on the Union and States for the following reasons”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 355words · Minimalist IAS
The Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016 ended a tax system split between Union levies (excise, service tax) and State levies (VAT, entry tax). It created one shared Goods and Services Tax (GST), rolled out on 1 July 2017.
Salient features of the 101st Amendment
- Concurrent taxing power: Article 246A lets Parliament and State Legislatures both make GST laws; under Article 269A the Union levies GST on inter-State supply and shares it.
- GST Council: Article 279A gives the Union one-third and the States two-thirds of the weighted vote, needs a three-fourths majority, and aims at a 'harmonised national market for goods and services' (clause 6).
- Definition and compensation: Article 366(12A) defines GST; States were assured 14% yearly revenue growth for five years.
- Exclusions: petroleum crude, diesel, petrol, natural gas and aviation turbine fuel await a Council-recommended date (Article 279A(5)); alcohol for human consumption stays with States.
- Taxes subsumed
- One destination-based GST
- Credit at every stage
- Tax on value added only
Is it efficacious enough to remove cascading and create a common market?
- Cascading curbed: GST subsumed 17 large taxes and 13 cesses; input tax credit flows across goods, services and State borders.
- Common market: State check posts are gone.
- Wider base: registered taxpayers rose from 60 lakh to about 1.51 crore, and gross collections hit a record ₹22.08 lakh crore in 2024–25 (PIB).
- Broken chain: fuels and alcohol stay outside, so taxes on them still cascade into transport and production costs.
- Rate clutter: several slabs in 2017 blurred 'one tax' (since 22 September 2025: mainly 5 and 18 per cent, plus 40 per cent for luxury and sin goods).
- Federal friction: in Mohit Minerals (2022) the Supreme Court held Council recommendations not binding on the Union and States; the States' assured revenue growth ran only five years.
Way forward
- Fuels in, in phases: bring petroleum products in through Council consensus, cushioning State revenue.
- Simpler compliance: lighter returns and quicker refunds keep small firms in the credit chain.
PIB calls GST 'One Nation-One Tax'. That label becomes fully true only when the Council, guided by Article 279A(6), brings fuels into the credit chain and keeps rates simple.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
