Why a grand GST bargain with states is needed

During the first five years of GST, there was a provision to compensate states for a loss of revenue, if any, measured against a 14 per cent growth over their “protected” revenues in 2015-16. The source of this compensation given to states was a cess that the Centre levied and collected on the sale of specific goods. This compensation cess was initially levied for a five year period. S…