To make lives easier, GST online portal available next week onwards

GST council finalized a four-tier tax structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28% for the new tax regime, with lower rates for essential items and the highest for luxury and de-merit goods. Before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rolls out in April, the online portal is all set to be open to the public from next week and it will enable the tax payers to get ready and all warmed up for the new system beforehand.

The portal will be hosted at the domain http:www.gst.gov.in and will be open to use on November 8th. The mobile app is also under development and will be out soon.

"The proposal was discussed in the GST panel meeting today (Thursday) and the date has been finalised. There was no adverse reaction to it," an official who requested anonymity, told ET.

Through the online portals, tax payers with their PAN numbers identified by the tax department can register themselves in advance and fill in their details and legacy data.

"The idea is to avoid everyone trying to log-in at the same time before the roll-out in April. The government is looking at getting the tax payers to enter all the data about themselves in their system for it to work smoothly at the time of the launch without any challenges," said the official.

According to the reports, software giant Infosys has been given the work of developing and running the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) -the entity tasked with providing the information technology infrast ructure for it -in a project worth Rs 1,380 crore.

The portal, in itself, will be the one-stop destination for filing and processing of all taxes for almost 65 to 70 lakh tax payers in the country. It will also be a domain for the tax payers where registration, return and payments will be filed. It will also provide help-desk support.

Businesses can register through PAN and mobile number or Aadhaar number and then it will also provide the businesses with a 15-digit GST identification number.

According to the official, GSTN has already generated the GST identification numbers for around 20 lakh tax payers in eight states and has sent the data to the states for further disbursal.

"We are doing it right now for VAT which covers excise as well, since those paying excise are also registered for VAT. Registration for people paying service tax will begin in January," an official told ET.

The entity is also working on a mobile app which will be out soon and with its help which tax payers can also register themselves and at the same time allow them to file taxes or upload returns.

"We are making the process really simple by allowing people to just take pictures from their phone cameras and then upload them. The app is also expected to be ready over the next five to seven days,” the official told ET.