12 and 18 percent GST Slabs may be Merged and 28 percent for Demerit Goods Says CEA Land, realty and natural gas could soon come under GST; tax mop-up in line with expectations The government may combine the 12% and 18% slabs for goods and services tax (GST) into one in the near future and reserve the 28% rate only for demerit goods, said chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian.While India will never move to a single GST rate, over time there would be a “poor man’s” rate (0% and 5%), a “core” rate (the 12%- 18% combination), and the demerit rate (28%), Subramanian said during the course of a 90-minute interaction at the ET office. Cement and white goods are not demerit goods, but the government was deliberately “going slow” on those items due to revenue considerations.The chief economic adviser, who had last year proposed a revenue neutral rate of 15.5%, said GST collections were not doing badly and the government would take a call on the overall fiscal situation in a few weeks.