Public and private banks are readying themselves to handle collection, accounting, and money transfers under the goods and services tax (GST) structure by December. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry have started holding monthly meetings with banks to check their preparedness. The new tax structure may be implemented from April 2017. Banks also need to send their status reports to the RBI and the government. Sources said the technology teams are trying to identify “teething problems” that could arise in the next couple of months. Banks that mostly follow automatised systems will have to further upgrade their IT management to ensure the GST is implemented smoothly. The individual bank boards have also been monitoring the situation. “Most public sector banks are almost ready with the systems, we are confident we would be able to move towards the seamless implementation of the new structure,” K Raghu, former president, Institute of Chartered Accountants o