Summarized points of GST Roll Out 2016

[MRAMDAS]

 

 

Summarized points from the Press Conference by  Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia at the Press Conference on GST roll out. The points are as follows:

3 pronged approach/focus:

- Establishing legal framework

- Roadmap for IT Infra

- Change Management

Legal framework & Important Dates:

- Next step is approval of 16 states in 30 days.. hopeful of the same.

- Presidential Approval

- GST Council Constitution

- Model law will go to GST Council... will see how much time it takes to reach consensus there

- CGST & IGST Act needs to be passed by Parliament

- SGST law to be cleared by State legislature

- In Winter session we hope all bills come before Parliament & State assemblies

IT Infra:

- We are ready with most software for registration, return filing & payment

- Hardware supply will start at earliest.

- Also need back-end processes. 17 states have given work to GSTN. 14 states doing on their own.

- CBEC, GSTN & States IT back-end will be ready by Nov. 2016

- Testing of softwares with live transactions by January 2017

Change Management:

- 60,000 assessing officers.. equally divided between Centre/States

- Source trainer/master trainers - 1000 trainers being trained as trainers.. they in turn will train the 60,000 officers

- GSTN will do IT Training for officers

- Outreach prog has started.. will accelerate it. Hope to complete by March 2017.

-  Easy to understand training modules for small traders

Registration:

- Will be an Easy process.. have called for entire database of VAT dealers. Auto-migration of VAT & ST Dealers to GST..
- for others new GST Identification no. Deemed registration if no query from the Department within 3 days.

Return filing:

- No transaction wise detail for intra-state b2c dealers

- For b2b inter-state sales, 4 returns to be filed. Suppliers list - to be filed by 10th of every month. One return for Centre & State.

- Small taxpayers option for composition scheme - quarterly return

- online tax payment compulsory

7 Challenges:

- Calculation of Revenue base of Centre & States

- Requirement of compensation - yet to be worked out. Can only be done once rate structure worked out by GST Council

- To arrive at a Rate structure that is not obnoxious and meets revenue requirement of Centre & States

- List of exemptions - don't want inflation for common man. Centre & States have to agree on this list.

- Forging consensus on Model GST Law important.

- Threshold limit whether Rs. 10 lacs or Rs. 25 lacs

- Cannot be dual control .. State & Centre can divide the cases. Once the case is opened for scrutiny, it should be dealt with only by one agency - Centre or States. GST Council needs to find solution to that.

 

Courtesy:

Maj Neil Castelino ( Retd)

Head - Karnataka State
CONFEDERATION OF INDIAN INDUSTRY