CA Online

The government is set to miss the deadline for tabling supporting legislation for the goods and services (GST) tax in the ongoing winter session of Parliament after the GST council on Sunday failed to finalize the draft laws. This in turn puts the government’s 1 April deadline of rolling out GST under a cloud. The government wanted to table three draft laws—the central GST bill (CGST), the integrated GST bill (IGST) and the bill for compensating states for revenue losses following the implementation of GST (SGST)—in the winter session ending on 16 December. But these bills are now likely to be tabled only in the budget session, due to begin in January, as the GST council failed to reach a consensus on any of the bills. State legislatures also have to pass the state GST bill before the tax can be rolled out, making it even more difficult for the government to push through GST implementation from the beginning of the next fiscal year. Finance minister Arun Jaitley reiterated th...

Revenue Department today said officials will not reopen the past assessments of excise and service tax of assessees even if their turnover in the current period increases on account of digital payments in the wake of demonetisation. In a circular to excise and service tax chief commissioners, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said there are "apprehensions" that an increased turnover because of use of digital modes of payment may lead to demands for the earlier period. "It is, hereby, clarified that in indirect taxes, past assessments will not be reopened for this reason alone," the CBEC said. Ever since the demonetisation announcement on November 8, in order to curb generation of black money the government has been taking steps to encourage people to shift towards digital mode of payment while making financial transactions. "By adopting a digital mode of payment, no financial transaction would remain undisclosed and consequently an enhanc...

It is virtually a race against time for India Inc as the April 1 deadline for the Goods and Services (GST) Tax rollout stares at them. While companies have appointed consultants to advise them on GST, nothing much has moved beyond that especially with small and medium enterprises. Large companies, however, say they can meet the April 1 deadline. Conversations with multiple tax experts reveal that not more than 40-50 per cent of large companies are ready for a GST rollout on April 1. “Manufacturing companies in categories such as consumer goods, auto, auto ancillaries etc were conscious of GST early on and did begin their groundwork in time. But, the services sector such as banking, insurance, media and entertainment are not quite ready for an April 1 rollout,” says Sachin Menon, partner and head of indirect tax at KPMG.  Retail majors such as Future Group and Shoppers Stop say that they have kicked off the process of being GST-compliant and can meet the April 1 deadline. Ni...

India needs to invest more in public health care and build a robust health delivery system in all aspects, including infrastructure and human resources,with special focus on rural areas, Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative to India, told PTI ,on Sunday. According to Bekedam, though India has made enormous progress in the health care sector in the recent past, still “60 million people are in poverty through paying health care bills mainly because of the country’s low investment in health, inadequate financial protection and high out-ofpocket expenditure.” PTI CBDT plans drive to sensitise taxpayerof e-initiatives. Business Standard New Delhi,12th December2016