Tuesday 30 September 2014

Developments in September 2014

September's Goods and Service Tax News Round Up



 

 No Opposition to GST : Chhattisgarh CM

Date : 26th Septmeber 2014
Chhattisgarh has no objection to implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), state Chief Minister Raman Singh said on Friday "Chhattisgarh has no objection on GST. We only want that state's loss of revenue is taken care of as there will be annual loss of Rs 1,000-1,200 crore," Singh told reporters here. The Chief Minister said he had raised the matter earlier with the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Source : DNA -

GST Implementation From April 2016, Feasible: Revenue Secretary

Date : 20th Septmeber 2014
As negotiations with states on GST enter a critical stage, the Centre is looking forward to implementation of the new indirect tax regime from April 1, 2016. "The deadline for actual implementation of GST from April 1, 2016, would be feasible. It all depend on how quickly we are able to reach consensus on critical issues," Revenue Secretary Shakti Kanta Das said at an event here.

"The discussions are at a very critical stage and we hope to make very good progress. We are quite optimistic we will be able to reach convergence in the coming weeks or months," Mr Das added. He said there are 4-5 issues with the states that are outstanding and on each there have been discussions in recent weeks.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting to take stock of the proposed new indirect tax regime and decided to soon clear the pending CST compensation for revenue loss incurred by states.
Source: NDTV , India TV , Economic Times


No objection to Goods and Services Tax: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Date : 20th September 2014
Madhya Pradesh has no objection to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the country, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

"We were never against GST. We have put forth our stand on a GST structure through which states were to face losses in state taxes. The (central) government will find a solution to that... There is no objection to it (GST)," Chouhan told PTI here today. Madhya Pradesh has been demanding a mechanism for full CST (Central Sales Tax) compensation.
Source : Economic Times



Telangana state favours the introduction of Goods and Service Tax : CM, Rao

Date : 19 September 2014
Stating that the state favours the introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST), Rao called for ensuring that there is no accentuation of vertical imbalances and compromise of autonomy of states. He said an adequate compensatory mechanism should be put in place. He suggested that petroleum and liquor be kept out of the purview of the GST.
Source : India.com


Modi gives approval for introducing Goods and Services Tax

Date : 15th September 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the approval for going ahead with the biggest tax reform initiative - the Goods and Services Tax. The government will now try to introduce the Constitutional Bill for GST in the Winter Session of Parliament.

The government has decided to make a few amendments. In the Constitution Bill, both the Centre and States would be allowed to levy GST on petroleum products. But practically, the states would continue to levy their excise rates, preventing a revenue loss for them.
The official said the ministry was considering keeping petroleum under GST, instead of excluding it constitutionally, as demanded by states, but to address the latter’s concerns on loss of revenue from this source, these could be zero-rated. Meaning, states can continue to levy sales tax or value-added tax on petroleum products, while the Centre would retain its right to impose excise duty.

The Centre is also trying to convince the Sates on allowing a GST compensation mechanism. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be meeting state finance ministers next month. He met the Prime Minister over the issue on Tuesday.
Several states have expressed concerns over losing autonomy and facing revenue losses if GST comes into play.

Source: IBN Live , Busniess Standard , Hindustan Times , Money Control


Central excise & service tax dept plans revamp

Date : 6th September 2014
A one taxpayer-one table formula was also proposed by the BIA members. who said the current one-stop system was convenient but if the restructuring is imperative, then at least both CE and ST collection should be ensured at one place. "With the cadre restructuring in the pipeline, a number of new posts will be created in the organization and we will be better prepared to implement the goods and services tax (GST) as and when it is enforced,"
Source : Times of India


If implemented, GST can contribute 2% to GDP growth: Adi Godrej

Date : 2nd September 2014
ET Now: But, has the administrative efficiency, which was lacking in the previous government, improved on the ground?

Adi Godrej: Certainly! The new government has taken many steps to improve the ease of doing business. Now, it's but obvious that everything cannot change within 100 days. However, suffice to say that the trend has been good. Looking forward to, say, 6 months to 12 months from now, the ease of doing business in India would have improved considerably.
Moreover, the biggest reform that can help India's growth accelerate is GST - the goods and services tax legislation - which the finance minister Arun Jaitley is working on, to bring in force by April 1, 2015.
Source : Economic Times


FM Says, Threshold limit for goods, services tax proposed by States too low

Date : 1st September 2014
he ?10-lakh threshold limit for imposition of Goods & Services Tax (GST) proposed by States is ‘too low’ for creating a business-friendly tax administration, according to the Finance Ministry. The Empowered Committee on State Finance Ministers, in its meeting on August 20, agreed on setting a ?10-lakh threshold limit for general category States and ?5 lakh for special category and North Eastern States. Earlier, the proposed limit was ?25 lakh.

“States are proposing ?10 lakh and ?5 lakh as the gross turnover. Considering various kind of reliefs and exemptions, the taxable limit will be much lower. Such a limit will not be very conducive for a business-friendly tax administration,” a senior Finance Ministry official told BusinessLine. He, however, refused to divulge the limit which the Centre thinks is appropriate.

Source : Busniess Line
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