Skip to main content

Digital Kiosks to Help Govt with GST Rollout

By

SUPPORT SYSTEM Common Service Centres will help merchants, especially in rural & semi-urban areas, in filing taxes under GST and provide the needed support

The government's massive network of Common Service Centres (CSCs), or digital kiosks, have been identified to facilitate the rollout of Goods and Services Tax (GST), especially in rural and semi-urban areas.

Out of the total 2,52,000 CSCs that are operational, around 1,72,000 are in the rural areas. These centres will help merchants in filing taxes under the new regime and also provide necessary training and support services to people. The proposal is close to getting a final approval from the government.

Dinesh Kumar Tyagi, CEO, CSC e-Governance Services, told ET that the centres are proposed to act as a GST Suvidha Provider.They will also train and support merchants.

“The agency will have its own portal where all the details will be filled up which will be synced with the main portal of the GST,“ he said.It will act as a “mirror portal“ of the GST portal, he added.

The entreprenuers training will be completed by June 15 and the system will be in place before the GST rollout. The services offered by the centres will not be free. Tyagi said the agency is in the process of working out a commission model which will be as competitive as those offered by other service providers.

“GST will act as a major pull factor for the CSCs, enhancing their credibility further,“ he said. The wide CSC network, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas, will give a major boost to the ambitious GST rollout since it requires a lot of ground-level support, he added.

“I don't think many service providers will be active in rural India, rural India will be ours,“ he said.

Around 34 companies, from accounting firms such as EY and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, to software companies such as IRIS Business Services and Tally Solutions, have been appointed as GSTN Suvidha Providers (GSP), which means that they can directly connect to the application programming interface (APIs) of the GST Network.

There are also several independent application developers and startups like ClearTax and Moglix as well as multinationals like Intuit vying to be application service providers (ASPs) to the GSPs. The ASP innovations can be part of the GSPs' offerings when they open up their secure APIs.

The Economic Times New Delhi, 09th May 2017

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Govt’s gamble on GST cuts: What do the bond and currency markets signal?

By
  It’s not just humans who suffer from cognitive biases; markets do too. Interestingly, different financial markets exhibit distinct biases, each interpreting events through its own prism of prejudice. Take the recent announcements on GST reforms: equity markets have chosen to view them through the lens of growth, while bond and currency markets are focusing on potential macroeconomic risks—fiscal pressures and current account challenges. So, which lens captures the true pulse?Equity markets may be right in expecting GST reforms to revive consumption, which has remained lacklustre for a while. But the key question remains—will this revival come at the cost of broader macro stability?It is well known that consumption stocks have rallied since the GST rationalisation announcement. But what about bond markets? What signals are they sending since this rejig was announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort?The signs aren't encouraging. Bond prices have slumped and yields have surged sinc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Luxury carmakers urge clarity on GST rates to boost festive season sales

By
  A clear picture regarding new GST rates at the earliest will help the overall auto industry, including the luxury car segment, to regain momentum in the ongoing quarter, which generally sees enhanced sales on account of the festive season.The high-powered GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will meet on September 3-4 to discuss moving to a two-slab taxation.In an interaction with PTI, BMW Group India President and CEO Hardeep Singh Brar said the recent speculation about the change in GST rates has caused uncertainty in the minds of consumers.Consumer interest and demand is strong, but they (prospective buyers) have adopted a wait-and-watch approach, and this delayed decision-making is impacting new vehicle sales at a certain level, he noted."Expediting clarity on GST rates is essential to get back to speed and ensure the auto sector's contribution to economic growth during this quarter is robust," Brar stated.He also hoped that the sustainable p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sebi proposes tighter norms for green bond third-party reviewers

By
  Sebi on Friday said it has proposed to tighten the norms to appoint independent third-party reviewers or certifiers for green debt securities to align them with requirements for other ESG-linked bonds.In a draft circular, Sebi said that the current norms for green bonds, introduced in February 2023, lack detailed requirements around reviewer independence, conflict of interest mitigation, and disclosure standards that are now in place for other ESG-linked securities under a June 2025 circular.The regulator's latest proposal seeks public comments on a revised framework that would bring parity by incorporating comprehensive criteria for third-party certifiers of green bonds on non-convertible securities.Under the proposed norms, issuers of green debt securities will need to appoint reviewers who are independent of their management, directors, and key managerial personnel. These reviewers will be remunerated in a way that prevents any conflicts of interest and possess relevant expert...
Post a Comment
Read more