QUESTION 11
GS2
15 marks
Explain 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”?
WRITE IN
11 min
250 words
What the examiner wants
Explain the 101st Amendment's features and judge whether GST removed cascading and built a national market.
Explain + Do you thinkMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.
Demand-wise check
- 1Features: Article 246A (concurrent taxing power), 269A (IGST on inter-state supply), 279A (GST Council), compensation to states for five years, subsumed central and state taxes, entry changes in Seventh Schedule≈50 words
- 2Successes: input tax credit across chain, removal of check posts, e-way bill, wider tax base≈50 words
- 3Limits: petroleum, alcohol, electricity and real estate outside GST (cascading remains), multiple rates, inverted duty, compliance burden on MSMEs, Centre-state trust issues≈50 words
- 4View: largely effective; needs fuel inclusion and simpler rates≈50 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
FeaturesHow it removes cascadingNational market gainsShortcomingsConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Explaining GST generally without the Amendment's articles
- No balanced judgment on 'efficacious enough'
Draw this
- Flowchart showing input tax credit removing tax on tax
Value addition
- CaseUnion v Mohit Minerals (2022): GST Council recommendations are persuasive, not binding.Supreme Court, 2022
- Reform'GST 2.0' (September 2025) cut most goods to two main slabs of 5% and 18%.GST Council, 2025
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 38 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aditya Srivastava · AIR 1 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 11 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 15 ↗Same syllabus reference
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Next: plan for one minute, write it in 11 minutes, then get it checked.