CA Online

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on June 6 take stock of the readiness of the country for the roll out of goods and services tax on July 1. “It will be a review of the state of preparedness,“ a government official privy to the matter said. The Centre is in no mood to postpone the scheduled implementation and is making all efforts to ensure that the switchover to GST remains as smooth as possible for both industry as well as consumers. The GST Council has favoured implementation of the new tax system from July 1, but a section of industry and some states such as the West Bengal have demanded that it be postponed to September. Some industrial segments are unhappy with the rates and have approached the government seeking changes. Goods and Services Tax (GST) seeks to replace multiple central taxes such as excise duty, countervailing duty, cesses and state taxes including value-added tax, octroi, purchase tax and luxury tax with a single levy. The GST Council has decided upo...

Banks that had hoped the government would allow them centralised registration under the goods and services tax (GST) appear to have been caught unaware. Now that they are required to register in each state, both public and private lenders are frantically trying to change their frontend information technology (IT) systems. Some of the bigger private and multinational banks started modifying their frontend IT systems about four months ago and expect to be ready by July 1, when the new tax regime is set to be rolled out. Some public sector banks, scheduled banks and smaller private banks began reconfiguring their systems only about a week ago or haven't even started. State-owned banks including Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, Vijaya Bank and Indian Bank and scheduled banks Saraswat Bank, RBL and DCB called for proposals from IT companies only recently. The challenge for banks under GST is to register in each state, unlike the current tax system. They will have to maint...

The government might bring in an ordinance to penalise those who try to make quick money under the goods and service tax (GST) regime. With the GST roll-out scheduled on July 1, the government might have to use this route to ensure a penalising provision is in place. JYOTI MUKUL reports The government might bring in an ordinance to penalise those who try to make quick money under the goods and service tax (GST) regime. With the GST roll-out scheduled on July 1, the government might have to use this route to ensure a penalising provision is in place. A proposed anti-profiteering body might be asked to ensure that the new tax regime is not misused, input credits are passed on and customers are not fleeced. The GST law provides such a cover but it does not specify penal action. A legislation for penal action is required both at the Centre and state levels, though the central GST Act has been enacted at the Centre and state GST Acts have been adopted by the states. “No penalty or...

The income tax department on Wednesday urged taxpayers to link their Aadhaar with their Permanent Account Number (PAN), using an SMSbased facility. The department issued advertisements in leading national dailies and described how both the unique identity numbers of an individual can be linked by sending an SMS to either 567678 or 56161. Business Standard, New Delhi, June 1, 2017

Exporters and importers will have to declare the goods and services tax Identification Number (GSTIN) from July 1 to carry out foreign trade. The declared GSTIN  would be validated for correct IEC (import export code number) PAN linkage. Business Standard, New Delhi, June 1, 2017

The Delhi Assembly on Wednesday passed the state goods and services tax (GST) Bill even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal pitched for capping tax rate at 10 per  cent. Parliament had on April 6 passed four legistations to pave the way for GST roll- out from July 1. Business Standard, New Delhi, June 1, 2017