Goods and GST Bill passed, Goods and Services Tax - GST

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Dear All,

GST Bill is passed in Rajya Sabha on 03. 08.2016.

A panel under chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian has recommended a revenue-neutral rate of 15-15.5%, with a standard rate of 17-18% be levied on most goods and all services.

But, there has been no agreement yet on rates of various goods and services, which remains a tricky issue. According to the Bill, passed in the Lok Sabha in May 2015, the rates were to be decided by a GST council headed by the central finance minister with state finance ministers as members.

Let us wait.

Thanks.

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[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The ambitious Goods and Services Tax to be implemented from July 1 would help raise India's medium-term growth to above eight per cent, the International Monetary Fund has said adding that the reforms being done is expected to pay off in terms of higher growth in the future.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

"We expect that the goods and services tax (GST), which is targeted to be applied starting in July, will help raise India's medium-term growth to above 8 per cent, as it will enhance production and the movement of goods and services across Indian states," the IMF official said.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

With the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1, 2017, inter-state transportation of goods would become more efficient. And among all, the logistics sector, comprising inbound and outbound segments of manufacturing and services supply chains, is likely to get the much-needed boost. Logistics companies in India are moving from traditional setups towards integration of IT and technology and this is expected to reduce the costs incurred and meet service demands.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Use of technology would facilitate efficient tax administration for registration, filing of returns, data exchange and efficient investigation, supervising, auditing and performance analysis. The implementation of GST from July 1, 2017, would not only allow logistics companies to set up just a few and big warehouses region wise, but also allow them to follow the hub-and-spoke model for freight movement from the warehouses to different manufacturing plants and wholesale and retail outlets.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Recently, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has put out a proposal on e-way bill, as a part of easing inter-state traffic movement under the GST regime; the ground-breaking reform in the Indian economy. It is expected that this remarkable initiative would enable standardisation of processes and bring more transparency in the system. With the shift in Indian logistics industry from unorganised to organised format, coupled with growth in consumer industries and increasing dispersal in demand, we may see investment opportunities in the areas such as road transportation, railways, multimodal logistics parks, online retail logistics and value-added services.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Besides the logistic sector, GST implementation will also create a true unified national market in India and this is expected to make Indian economy more efficient and prosperous. Companies such as TCI express, Transport Corporation of India, Allcargo, Snowman Logistic, GDL, Gati and VRL Logistics are likely to see good growth going forward.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

While the businesses are waiting for the tax rates for various commodities under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the government is unlikely to announce the rates soon. The fitment of rates will be made public only a few days before the July 1 roll-out, sources told FE.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

ET VIEW: Make Clear Rules
The onus lies on the Centre and states to ensure a smooth transition to the goods and services tax, which is the biggest indirect tax reform to create a unified market. Malaysia, which introduced GST two years ago, educated businesses and customers, but that did not suffice. India should be prepared better for the switch over to avoid any choas. So, rules must be clear, and the tax administration well-equipped to handle GST. Ideally, the new levy should be rolled out three months after the publication of GST rules to make transition smooth for businesses.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The GST would not increase compliance burden on assessees and all apprehensions in this regard are misplaced, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said today.

"Many people think that implementation of GST would result in increase in compliance cost. This is completely misplaced," he said while addressing netizens on Facebook.

Explaining the rationale, he said people have to keep different law books for filing return for various taxes like VAT, Excise etc in the present taxation regime.

"But with the roll out of GST, there would be a single tax and accounting for this will be very simple. It can be done through an offline excel form provided by GST Network. If someone uses this form for keeping record of purchase and sales, then he can use this for filing return. Thus, compliance would be minimised," he said.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Adhia, who is spearheading implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), said the finance ministry is gearing up for its roll out and five days training has already been given to officers.

Besides, IT training for them is going on, he said.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

To promote the GST enrolment and lure pending tax payers to migrate, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan promotion with the tagline “I have enrolled with the GST. Have you?” have been circulated by CBEC.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

With government looking all set to implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1, 2017, they are leaving no stone un-turned to get existing tax payers migrated to GST.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

There are over 80 lakh Value Added Tax (VAT) and Excise duty payees in the country. Out of these over 75 per cent of VAT and 73 per cent of the central excise assessees have switched to the GST Network (GSTN). Meanwhile, only a meagre 34 percent service taxpayers have made the shift.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Process of migrating existing indirect tax registration (VAT/CST, Service Tax, Excise) to Goods and Services Tax (GST) began on 8th November 2016 with window opening for few VAT states in the beginning followed by other states and Service Tax and Excise tax payers.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Government had set 31st March as deadline to migrate which was later extended to April 30th 2017. Over 60 lacs tax payers migrated to GST within this time frame. GST portal has expressed gratitude towards migrants by thanking them. It further adds that the Enrolment process has closed with effect from 1st May 2017. Data of all those who have signed the enrolment form will be migrated to the new GST System.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

As per the GST portal, “The enrolment window will reopen at a later date for taxpayers who could not enrol themselves as well as for those who enrolled but did not sign the enrolment form.”

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

GST is expected to roll out from Jul 1 2017.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Implementation of Goods and Services Tax in India carries notion of being a compliance loaded law. While the increase in compliance may be manifold for service providers but may not be as much for traders or manufacturers.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

“Many people think that implementation of GST would result in increase in compliance cost. This is completely misplaced,” he said.

He said people have to keep different law books for filing return for various taxes like VAT, excise etc in the present taxation regime. “But with the rollout of GST, there would be a single tax and accounting for this will be very simple. It can be done through an offline excel form provided by GST Network. If someone uses this form for keeping record of purchase and sales, then he can use this for filing return. Thus, compliance would be minimised,” he said.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Faced with multiple implementation challenges as they race to roll out the Goods and Services tax (GST) from July 1, a number of States as well as businesses want the new levy to be introduced from September 1.

Migration of assessees is behind schedule. Also, the IT infrastructure for GST by the GST Network is still being tested. It is very likely that States will seek more time for the introduction of GST, said two sources close to the development.

According to official data, barring the southern States, enrolment of businesses under GST continues to lag, with only about 70 per cent of them migrating as of the April 30 deadline.

Migration of service tax and Central excise assessees to GST was also low at 43.73 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively.

The issue is likely to be taken up at the GST Council meeting in Srinagar on May 18 and 19.

“Unless we have tested the GSTN how can we say we are ready? Then there are 14 draft GST rules in the public domain, which are yet to be finalised. We also have no clarity on whether new rules will come in or only 14 will be there. July 1 seems to be a very aggressive date for rollout,” Bimal Jain, Chairman, Indirect Taxes Committee, PHDCCI, said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is keen on launching GST from July 1 and the Finance Ministry is making every effort to ensure this. The Ministry argues that a July 1 rollout of GST, which has been delayed by seven years, would mean it starts from the beginning of a new quarter.

“It could be an accounting headache for firms if GST started from September 1,” pointed out an official.

However, businesses, too, are getting anxious about the final rules and fitment of commodities. “Talks have only been taking place about goods; what about services? Here again there is no clarity,” Jain added.

“It will be a race to the finish. If the GST Council finalises the rates and rules in the May meeting, companies will still need some time to tune their systems. With the planned anti-profiteering authority, everyone wants to be very careful,” noted an industry representative, who did not wish to be named.

A committee of officers under the GST Council is finalising the exact rate on goods and services under GST in the 4-tier structure. “It would be good if the Council favourably considers the industry demand for a Sept 1 rollout. …several critical issues need to be clarified and product wise rates have not been released as well,” said Pratik Jain, Partner and Leader (Indirect Tax), PwC.

Sources said that another cause of concern in some quarters is the passage of the State GST Bills. Only five States have passed the SGST Bill, although the Finance Ministry expects all States to enact it by May 31.

Source: Hindu Business Line

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet have also approved the SGST Bill today. The decision was taken at the fifth cabinet meeting of the state government headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

With this, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand becomes sixth and seventh state to pass SGST Bill after Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

“The complexity in taxes was a tax in itself. The GST is aimed to reduce these complexities and turn the country’s into a developing economy ,” said Shekhawat, Industry Minister.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The Uttar Pradesh government today approved implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the state and the same will be passed in the Assembly in the session commencing from May 15.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The Finance Ministry will be setting up a new dedicated team to dispose of the cases related to tax issues pending before the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) before the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. As per the ministry sources, a separate Legacy Commissionarate will be established at the zonal level, which will be headed by Commissioner level officer whose responsibility will be to resolve the cases which are pending before the department.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Once the GST is implemented from July 1st onwards then all the new disputed cases will be handled by the GST Council team itself. Also, the current cases, which are pending before the CBEC for several years, will be handled and disposed of by the Legacy Commissionarate.