GST 2.0 has, by and large, settled in. RBI pegs GDP growth at roughly 6.8%, and international agencies continue to endorse India's resilient growth prospects. Revenue collections remain buoyant despite significant rate rationalisations and fewer slabs. But the upbeat headline masks two persistent weaknesses: first, rate cuts do not always translate into lower final prices because input taxes can remain higher than the tax on the finished product, and, second, evasion through fake invoices has not abated and, in some cases, appears to be flourishing. Scrap is gold - and trouble The single commodity most vulnerable to misuse is scrap. Almost all scrap -battery, plastic, steel (glass being an exception) - attracts an 18% duty. Scrap is a vital feedstock: reclaimed materials are reprocessed to make new products, which themselves typically face an 18% levy. That creates a loop in which scrap and scrap-derived goods are taxed at the same rate, increasing the attractiveness of invoice-based fraud.