The additional 1% tax levied by manufacturing states should be dropped from the Goods and Services Tax Bill, a panel set up to make suggestions on the key legislation recommended on Friday. This was one of the demands of the Opposition, which has caused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to rethink the Bill. According to PTI, the panel's report also suggested a revenue-neutral GST rate of 15-15.5%, and that the additional 1% tax on inter-state sales be removed.

The committee however, has recommended that the GST rate not be capped in the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which was another of Congress's demands in Parliament. In addition to this, the panel suggested a 40% GST rate on luxury items and tobacco, and 12% on mass consumption goods. A government official told NDTV that the panel was due to submit its report in September, but this got delayed because of the various suggestions and inputs from different sources. The Centre has said it is aiming to pass the bill in the winter session of Parliament, but if the Congress and other Opposition parties block the bill further, it is likely to be pushed to the next Parliament session. The GST seeks to replace all taxes, including excise, service and sales tax.