In PM Narendra Modi’s presence, ministers briefed on GST
NEW DELHI: More than 18,000 man-hours that the GST Council sat on discussions, 175 officer meetings, and training programmes for over 51,000 government officials and 31,000 industry professionals – the work that went behind the constitutional amendment on GST and four subordinate laws was elaborate.
On Wednesday, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia gave a lowdown to the council of ministers on the efforts that have gone into making the landmark indirect tax reform a reality.
President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent on Wednesday to the subordinate legislations passed by Parliament recently, paving the way for GST to be rolled out on July 1.
Wednesday’s presentation by Adhia, in the presence of the Prime Minister, served as a “good opportunity” for ministers to understand the intricacies of the new tax regime, a senior government official told ET, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “The PM asked all ministers to clarify any doubts they have about the GST from Adhia. The PM said this is important as the ministers will face similar questions from people,” the official added.
Adhia listed out six key points on the “Way Forward”, with specific stress on ensuring a smooth change-over to the new tax system. The Central Bureau of Excise and Customs is training officials both at the Centre and states and organising outreach programmes for trade and industry, Adhia said.
A top priority looking ahead would be passing of state GST laws by the state legislatures. Others include fixing tax rates on various categories of goods and services as well as finalising rules relating to “registration, returns, valuation, transitional and input credit, etc.”, as per Adhia’s presentation.
The presentation cited six major benefits of GST, including an overall reduction in prices for customers, reduction in multiplicity of taxes as well as cascading and double taxation and a uniform rate of tax and common national market. Adhia said it will lead to a broader tax base and “decrease in black transactions”, a free flow of goods and services with “no checkpoints” and a “non-intrusive electronic tax compliance system” as all transactions and processed will be through electronic mode.
Infosys has been appointed as a managed service provider for the GST Network, the presentation showed. Also, 34 GST Suvidha Providers have been appointed to provide technology-based assistance and there will be GST practitioners to assist in filing of returns.
On questions from ministers, Adhia clarified that a main feature of the GST Act was that as credit would be available to the recipient only if invoice was matched, it would help fight evasion of taxes. The Revenue Secretary also told the ministers how the GST was “10 years in making” since the announcement was first made in 2006 to introduce it by 2010.
On Wednesday, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia gave a lowdown to the council of ministers on the efforts that have gone into making the landmark indirect tax reform a reality.
President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent on Wednesday to the subordinate legislations passed by Parliament recently, paving the way for GST to be rolled out on July 1.
Wednesday’s presentation by Adhia, in the presence of the Prime Minister, served as a “good opportunity” for ministers to understand the intricacies of the new tax regime, a senior government official told ET, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “The PM asked all ministers to clarify any doubts they have about the GST from Adhia. The PM said this is important as the ministers will face similar questions from people,” the official added.
Adhia listed out six key points on the “Way Forward”, with specific stress on ensuring a smooth change-over to the new tax system. The Central Bureau of Excise and Customs is training officials both at the Centre and states and organising outreach programmes for trade and industry, Adhia said.
A top priority looking ahead would be passing of state GST laws by the state legislatures. Others include fixing tax rates on various categories of goods and services as well as finalising rules relating to “registration, returns, valuation, transitional and input credit, etc.”, as per Adhia’s presentation.
The presentation cited six major benefits of GST, including an overall reduction in prices for customers, reduction in multiplicity of taxes as well as cascading and double taxation and a uniform rate of tax and common national market. Adhia said it will lead to a broader tax base and “decrease in black transactions”, a free flow of goods and services with “no checkpoints” and a “non-intrusive electronic tax compliance system” as all transactions and processed will be through electronic mode.
Infosys has been appointed as a managed service provider for the GST Network, the presentation showed. Also, 34 GST Suvidha Providers have been appointed to provide technology-based assistance and there will be GST practitioners to assist in filing of returns.
On questions from ministers, Adhia clarified that a main feature of the GST Act was that as credit would be available to the recipient only if invoice was matched, it would help fight evasion of taxes. The Revenue Secretary also told the ministers how the GST was “10 years in making” since the announcement was first made in 2006 to introduce it by 2010.
