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GST roll-out may prove to be a bumpy ride for small businesses in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to multiple businesspeople ET spoke to. While larger companies have either already aligned their systems with GST or are in the last leg of the process, uncertainty looms over small businesses, say industry associations that expect the “transition will be painful for SMEs.” “Small and medium enterprises are jittery about the transition,” said A P K Reddy, president, Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises. “SME sector has been using basic tallying technologies only. That may create some issues with GST compliance. While a majority of them have got the GST numbers, we’re all jittery about complying with the return processes.” There is also the threat of cost increase for small pharmacies that run on thin margins. “We expect the spillover of a price increase will not reach retailers or end-customers, but there is always an element of uncertainty,” said Rajesh Nandi

PAN will not be cancelled after June 30 The income tax department has said permanent account numbers that are not linked to Aadhaar by July 1 will not be cancelled, stepping in to calm the panic caused by a notification issued on Wednesday.“There is no need for any panic. PAN will not become invalid after June 30,” Sushil Chandra, chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) told ET. The board will notify a date later on when PAN without Aadhaar will not be valid, he said. “Every person who has been allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July, 2017 and who in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 139AA is required to intimate his Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to the Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director- General of Income-tax (Systems) or the person authorised by the said authorities,” a government notification earlier this week said. People rushed to link their Aadhaar with PAN believing that J

Lender says RBI’s stringent provision norms will affect profit margins The country’s largest bank, the State Bank of India, has written a letter to the finance ministry raising concerns over the stringent provisioning norms for companies under the Bankruptcy Code, which will eat into its profit margins. The lender is reluctant to meet these norms and has sought the ministry’s intervention on the matter. Asenior executive with the lender confirmed the development and said that the government is expected to hold discussions with the Reserve Bank of India, state-run lenders and the Bankruptcy Board. An email sent to both SBI and RBI did not elicit any response till the time of going to press. RBI, in a circular issued to banks on June 15, had stated that for accounts identified for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), lenders will need to make a minimum provision of 50% for the secured portion of the outstanding amount, plus an additional 100% on the unsecu

Finance minister Arun Jaitley has expressed the hope that the government will not have to use the anti-profiteering provision of the goods and services tax (GST) and said prices should drop overall under the new regime to be put in place on July 1. Jaitley said in an interview that there may be some challenges initially, but expects companies to get accustomed to GST quickly, calling for patience as the reform is rolled out. "On an overall basis, the net weighted average of the whole consumption basket is less than what it was," he said. "So, in terms of weighted average it should come down." India is one of the few countries that has shown it has the ability to carry out structural reforms, Jaitley said, citing insolvency laws, overseas investment reforms and the Air India disinvestment plan. On some sections of industry seeking a GST deferral, the minister said the government has been atypically ahead on this count."Normally, in a reform process, the priv

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will remain open on July 1 for services such as transfer of funds through National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) and realtime gross settlement (RTGS) from 11 am onwards.The RBI followsato June accounting year and June 30 being the closing date of the year, the office generally remains closed on July 1 every year. The apex bank said July 1 being a working Saturday, it has decided to remain open on that day.Services such as RTGS and NEFT for sending funds and settlement of securities will be available from 11 am onwards.Settlement of funds as well as securities for all transactions that settle on T+0 basis will be effected from 11 am onwards, it said in a release.The liquidity adjustment facility fixed rate repo window will be operated between 11.30 am and 3 pm, it further said. Business Standard New Delhi, 30th June 2017

The Centre is planning to integrate the direct and indirect taxation systems for all indirect taxpayers by linking the GST number with the permanent account number (PAN) issued by the income tax department, reports SHRIMI CHOUDHARY With the advent of goods and services tax (GST), the Centre is now planning to integrate the direct and indirect taxation systems for all indirect taxpayers by linking the GST number with the permanent account number (PAN) issued by the income tax (I-T) department. The move aims at curbing tax malpractices, as cross-checking I-T payments with GST payments is expected to prevent tax evasion.The move would also bring the GST-PAN linked system in line with the prevailing PAN-based system for I-T facilitating data exchange and taxpayer compliance. A PAN-linked system will provide correlation between the payment of direct and indirect taxes and also within the tax authorities administering them, said a senior tax official. Explaining the advantage of having a

As many as 160,000 businesses that were previously not registered for either valueadded tax (VAT), service tax or excise duty have enrolled for the goods and services tax (GST) in the past four days. As the GST Network (GSTN) portal reopened for the third time, registration for both new assessees and existing excise, service tax  and VAT payers on June 25, businesses rushed to get themselves registered ahead of the July 1 roll-out of the GST. “Since June 25, 160,000 applications for fresh registrations have come in. Of this, 53,000 applications have been completed with details of business,” said GSTN Chairman Navin Kumar. New businesses have 30 days for registering on the GSTN portal beginning June 25. In first two rounds of registration, 6.6 million, out of the existing indirect taxpayers of 8.1 million, had registered with the GSTN. Business Standard New Delhi, 30th June 2017

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley meets industry bigwigs; officials on standby Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met industry representatives on Thursday, a day before the roll-out of the goods and services tax (GST), and urged them against increasing prices. Executives of Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Airtel, DLF, Amazon, Grofers, Wipro, Mondelez, Johnson & Johnson and Liberty, along with industry chamber members, met Jaitley in North Block late in the evening. The FM took stock of industry preparedness for the GST and pitched for price reductions after the tax was imposed. “The finance minister asked the industry representatives to pass on the benefit of the GST to the end user. The broad message was that the GST should not be inflationary and that prices should either remain stable or come down,” said an official on condition of anonymity. Calculation by different players during the hour-long meeting showed the effective rate on shampoos, chocolates, and aerated waters w