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Brought into effect by the biggest ever tax reform in India, GST has highly eased how businesses are done in the country. The essence of GST is creating a single system of tax collection across the nation to increase the taxpayer base and avoid the tax complexities. It has integrated multiple taxes into a single system. Why go for GST registration? Registering under GST is incumbent in India for individuals and entities supplying goods or services. GST becomes mandatory when the aggregate value of the supply can exceed over Rs. 20 lakhs per annum. In case of the entity doing business in a state classified under special category, GST registration is mandatory when the total value of the supplies might cross 10 lakhs per annum. Irrespective of the turnover, a person or entity can also choose to go for GST registration. Initially the GST guidelines made it not possible to surrender a voluntary GST registration for a period of one year. Eventually this was modified and the new regulations permit the surrendering of voluntary GST registration by the applicant anytime. Here we discuss the step by step procedure of registering under <keyword id="3612537" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="gst-in-india">GST in India</keyword>. <keyword id="7261268" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST-registration-process">GST Registration Process</keyword> <ul><li>The Central Government of India maintains an online portal to facilitate GST registration online. Here are the steps to register under GST.</li><li>Either through a Facilitation Center or on the GSTN portal, the applicant will have to submit his PAN, mobile number and email id in Part A of Form GST REG–01. </li><li>The GST portal verifies the PAN and also sends a one-time password (OTP) for verifying the mobile number and email id. After verification, the portal sends a reference number for the application submitted on the registered mobile number and email id of the applicant. An electronic acknowledgement will be issued to the applicant in FORM GST REG-02. </li><li>The applicant has to fill in Part- B of Form GST REG-01 by inputting the application reference number. Following this, the form has to be submitted with the necessary documents attached.</li><li>In case the portal will need any additional information from the candidate, Form GST REG-03 will be issued. From the date of receipt of Form GST REG-03, the applicant must furnish the information asked by responding through Form GST REG-04 within 7 working days.</li><li>The registration certificate in Form GST REG –06 is issued to the applicant both for the principal place of business and also for every additional place of business. If an individual or entity operates multiple businesses within a state, separate application must be submitted for GST registration for each of the businesses. </li></ul>Other useful information on GST registration In case the GSTN registration portal is not satisfied with the details submitted by the candidate, the GST registration application will be rejected using Form GST REG-05. The applicant who needs to deduct TDS or collect TCS is expected to register by submitting an application in Form GST REG – 07. If the authorities find that the entity or individual is no longer liable to deduct TDS or collect TCS, the applicant will be notified of it and the registration will be cancelled in such a case.

What you need to know about the GST registration process

If you are earning Rs 20 lakh annually from renting or leasing commercial property, you’ll have to pay tax. Under the new norms, GST will be levied on commercial rental income beyond Rs 20 lakh. Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said that if the house property is rent out for shop or office purpose, no Goods and Service Tax (GST) will be levied up to Rs 20 lakh. "Rental income received from residential house is exempt. But if you have given your unit to commercial enterprise, then it is taxable if you are getting more than Rs 20 lakh as rent," said Adhia. The taxpayers will have to register themselves with the GST Network and pay taxes. So far, nearly 69.32 lakh registered excise, service tax and VAT payers have migrated to the GSTN portal. There are over 80 lakh such assessees in the earlier indirect taxation regime. GSTN Chief Executive Prakash Kumar said out of the 69.32 lakh, as many as 38.51 lakh have completed the entire registration process and registration certicate is being issued to them. The remaining 30.8 lakh taxpayers are being sent SMS and emails by GSTN so that they complete the registration process by giving the details of the business like main place of business, additional place of business, promoters details. Besides, over 4.5 lakh new assessees have registered on the GSTN portal since June 25. Adhia further said that the facility to amend the details of businesses provided to the GSTN portal at the time of registration will open on July 17. Also, registration for GST practioners will open on the same day. Besides, cancellation of registration can be done online.

Earning income by renting commercial properties? Be ready to shell out GST. Here are the details

GST will change the way business happens in the country as it will add up digitalization and automation of money movement, processes, and stock planning that itself will help to enhance the capability and capacity of SMEs &amp; MSMEs. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/budget/common-man-budget">ALSO READ: AIRFARES TO RISE STEEP AFTER BUDGET. HERE"S WHY</a> 
 
In current tax system, there are multiple taxes levied by the states and the centre at different levels from manufacturing to supply of goods. Multiple taxes at different levels cause the cascading effect; the diverse taxation system in the states is also hindrance in doing business. The GST subsumes over a dozen state and central taxes, creates a uniform tax regime across the country, and mitigates the cascading effect of tax. The over involvement of bureaucracy in existing system created many indirect bottlenecks that will get removed and free flow of working will placed in, that's what is needed while creating ease of doing business. 
 
Most important aspect from a potential business perspective is India becoming ONE market itself which will add up to business scope of small Enterprises, they will be able to do business in any state and geographies without worrying about taxation and administration. 
GST will encourage small enterprise to adopt automated processes which will speed up organisation of businesses well. Once the business gets organized, the possibility of growth doubles, on the other hand the customer expectations are also fulfilled by providing better buying and selling services. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/budget/common-man-budget">ALSO READ: BRANDED FASHION TO GET EXPENSIVE?</a> 
 
GST vs. Existing Tax System 
In current tax system there are multiple taxes collected by the center and the sates in their respective jurisdictions. 
 
 
In GST there are three taxes only 
 
SGST : Sate GST, levied by the States on intra-State supply of goods and services. 
CGST: Central GST, levied by the Centre on intra-State supply of goods and / or services. 
IGST: Integrated GST, levied by the Centre on inter-State supply of goods and services. 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/budget/common-man-budget">ALSO READ: COMMON MAN"S BUDGET 2017</a> 
 
 
 
 
 Dual GST 
India is a federal republic Country. In the constitution of India there is distinct division of powers between the Center and the States. Both have been assigned the powers to raise resources through appropriate legislation. Therefore a dual GST is Constitutional requirement of fiscal federalism wherein Centre and States will be simultaneously levying it on a common tax base. 
 
Registration 
Those who are already registered under Central Excise Law, Service Tax Law, Central Sell Tax or State VAT do not need file a fresh application. They will get automatically get a PAN based registration number. Those who are not already registered under aforementioned laws, can get registered within 30 days from the date they becomes liable. Others liable to register under GST Act, can apply either through GSTN portal or facilitation center. The applicant must have PAN to apply for registration under GST. 
 
(This article has been contributed by Sudhir Singh, Managing Director, <a href="http://www.margcompusoft.com/">Marg Compusoft Pvt. Ltd</a>)

How this budget will be a gamechanger for SMEs and MSMEs

The introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST) is expected to be one of the most crucial indirect tax reforms in India. Conceived with the prime objective to integrate the central and state taxes and reduce the cascading effect of taxes, GST could possibly provide ease of doing business and achieve the milestone which the ’Make in India’ crusade has set the stage for. 
	 
	While the Bill is still pending, the government preparing the framework and ground to implement GST. Four official draft documents outlining the process pertaining to registration, payment, refund and return have already been released in the month of October 2015. 
	 
	Broad Framework of GST 
	 
	As regard the broad framework of GST, all intra-state supply of goods/services would attract Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and State Goods and Services Tax (SGST). 
	 
	All inter-state supplies would attract Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) which would be a summation of SGST and CGST. Basic Customs Duty (‘BCD’) levied on importation of goods into India would continue to exist under GST regime. However, the additional customs duty (i.e. CVD) levied in lieu of Excise and the Special Additional Duty (SAD) levied in lieu of Sales tax/Value Added Tax (‘VAT’) would be subsumed under the Import GST. Further, import of services would be subject to IGST on a reverse charge mechanism, following the principle of destination based taxation. Further, exports of both goods and services would continue to be zero rated. 
	 
	Rate under GST 
	 
	As regard the rate under GST, a two-rate structure is being proposed with lower rate at around 12% and standard rate between 17% to18% (rates are CGST and SGST combined). 
	 
	Under GST, set-off of taxes so paid on import of goods and services other than BCD will be available as credit so as to avoid cascading impact of taxes. Though cross utilisation of CGST with SGST and vice versa as well as cross utilization of SGST of a particular State with SGST of another State may not be allowed. Further, various restrictions on availment of credit (such as trader cannot take credit of CVD, service provider cannot take credit of SAD) are likely to go away. In fact, it appears that in light of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ initiative, government in the GST process document on refund has indicated to grant refund of accumulated input credit in case of inverted duty structure (which is a long drawn issue in many industries like pharma) which typically arise due to high taxes on importation of goods. 
	 
	Minimal exemptions 
	 
	Following the international practices, GST regime is expected to have minimal exemptions/concessions. Various exemptions (viz. from CVD and SAD) currently available under the present regime on import of goods are likely to cease under GST. However, there is no clarity on various tax benefits under GST such as duty drawback, duty benefit on import of goods which are for the purpose of re-export, continuity of the concept of merchant exporter etc. 
	 
	The refund 
	 
	In terms of the GST process document on refund, it appears that the option to procure duty free inputs for exported goods could be withdrawn under the GST. Instead, refund of input taxes is being suggested (including of the SGST portion). Conversion of upfront exemptions to refund would lead to a higher working capital requirements and lead to lower liquidity. Also, the intricacies involved in claiming refund claim would have to be dealt with especially where one would have to deal with various state level authorities (viz. in absence of concept of centralized registration under GST except for sectors such as banking). 
	 
	Further, it would also be relevant to monitor the fate of existing exemptions for Special Economic Zones (SEZ) units in light of the ab initio exemption currently available to the SEZ units. Thus, whether such ab initio exemptions would continue for SEZ units or the same would be changed entirely to a refund mode is still to be addressed under GST. 
	 
	Further, concepts of High Sea Sale and Sale in the course of import/export may not hold any relevance under GST. Concessions based on issuance of various forms (such as Form H for claiming upfront Central Sales Tax (‘CST’) exemption on penultimate sales for exports, upfront exemption of CST basis Form I by SEZ, exemption from payment of VAT on supplies to SEZ subject to conditions prescribed in state VAT law etc.) is still to be answered under GST as the fate of such exemptions also hangs in doldrums. 
	 
	As regard various duty/tax exemptions and export-linked benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy (such as Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme, advance authorisation, Merchandise Exports from India Scheme, Services Exports from India Scheme etc.), it would be relevant to monitor whether the existing exemption from Central levies to these exporters would continue under GST. 
	 
	Addressing the legal issues under GST 
	 
	Besides various typical situations (especially under Service tax law) are expected to be addressed under GST. These include (a) treating the branches and the head office located in various jurisdictions (including India) as separate legal entities and denying the benefit of export of services provided by the Indian establishment; (b) defining the place of provision of ‘intermediary’ services as place of service provider (thereby denying the benefit of export of services to various players). 
	 
	Indian industry at large hopes to see a pragmatic shift with several concerns in relation to GST being addressed in the upcoming Budget. Also, GST should help solve the complexities around the tax structure, and provide ease of doing business. Therefore, it would be relevant to monitor the finer GST details which are expected to be rolled out soon by the government. 
	 
	The article has been authored by Sanjay Garg, partner, Indirect Tax at KPMG India. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the organisation.

Budget 2016: All you need to know about GST

New Delhi, Jan 2 () Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey will hold a day-long meeting on January 7 with tax commissioners to discuss ways for streamlining the GST system and plugging leakages due to fraud.
Besides, sources said, this meeting with Commissioners of State Tax and Chief Commissioners of Central Tax will also deliberate on enhancing GST compliance by plugging loopholes and discourage tax evaders, those gaming or misusing the system. 
The meeting assumes significance as the GST Council in its last meeting held on December 18 wanted a detailed study on these issues before taking any call on rate hike on items.
Meanwhile, in an encouraging sign, the GST collection for December came in at around Rs 1.03 lakh crore. This was the second month in a row when the GST mop-up was over Rs 1 lakh crore.
Sources said, this multi-faceted brainstorming meeting is being organised with the purpose of curbing fraud and evasion, checking fake or huge input tax credit claims, seeking bank account details of businesses to tally with their filings, misuse of refund and sharing best practices in revenue augmentation.
Discussions in the meeting would focus on the road ahead with e-invoicing, new return system and feedback, e-way bill linking with Fastag, pendency of refunds, linkage of Aadhaar to GST registration, enforcement module use without overreach and the QR code, sources said. 
A detailed review of further use of data analytics and artificial intelligence in the process of enforcement and red-flagging the tax evaders and fake refund claimants would also be taken up to augment revenue and better compliance without overreach, sources said. 
 It would also examine the processes designed to give due role to the collating and combined study of data from the third parties like banks/IFU-India, sources said. 
This meeting would be attended by the senior officers of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management and GSTN officials.
 Targeted approach to stop tax evasion without any overreach or harassment to the genuine taxpayers will be deliberated with concerned field officers and also the enforcement wings, sources added. DP MKJ

Revenue secy to hold meeting with officials on GST system streamlining, plugging leakages on Jan 7

New Delhi, The government has permitted <keyword id="19951327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gst" source="keywords">GST</keyword> Network to share data about GST-registered businesses, based on their consent, with the <keyword id="19922074" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank" source="keywords">Reserve Bank</keyword>'s 'Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit'. The move will help entities get loans faster on the basis of shared Goods and Services Tax (GST)-related information. The platform, created by the Reserve Bank of India (<keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbi" source="keywords">RBI</keyword>) subsidiary Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, is intended to enable seamless flow of necessary information to lenders to help in disbursing credit. In a notification, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has said "the Central Government, on the recommendation of the Council, notifies 'Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit' as the system with which information may be shared by the common portal based on consent...". The platform has been developed for the operation of a large ecosystem of credit, to ensure access of information from various data sources digitally. The financial service providers and multiple data service providers can converge on the platform using standard and protocol driven architecture, the notification said. Moore Singhi Executive Director <keyword id="19994271" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rajat-mohan" source="keywords">Rajat Mohan</keyword> said with appropriate consent from the supplier/recipient, GSTN is empowered to disclose specific details submitted in the GST registration application, along with data from outward tax returns, monthly and annual tax returns, and invoice preparations. "This arrangement ensures that borrowers cannot withhold any transactional information provided to lenders or the government portal. It enhances credit efficiency by minimising costs and the time required for processing. "Moreover, lenders gain access to authenticated monthly sales and purchase data directly from government-sanctioned sources, allowing for a more accurate and timely assessment of credit risk," <keyword id="19973713" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mohan" source="keywords">Mohan</keyword> said. GST filings will become a crucial factor for businesses seeking to obtain credit and leverage government-sponsored credit programmes in future, Mohan added.

GSTN to share data with RBI's frictionless credit platform

Businesses can start uploading their sale and purchase invoices generated post July 1 on the <keyword id="6356840" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="GSTN">GSTN</keyword> portal from July 24, a top company official told PTI. The Goods and <keyword id="645517" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="services-tax">Services Tax</keyword> has kicked in from July 1 and so far, the GST Network, the company handling the IT backbone for new tax regime, has been facilitating registration of businesses. "We plan to launch the invoice upload utility on the portal on July 24 so that businesses can come forward and start uploading the invoices on a daily or weekly basis to avoid month-end rush," GSTN Chairman Navin <keyword id="6358442" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kumar">Kumar</keyword> told PTI. Generating invoices for dealings above Rs 200 and keeping invoice records in serial number even if maintained manually, are pre-requisites for claiming input tax credit under the GST regime. The GSTN had last month launched an offline Excel format for businesses to keep their invoice records and from July 24 this Excel shecan be uploaded on the portal. Kumar said GSTN would put up a video on its portal to assist businesses in uploading invoices. Besides, a call centre help desk has been set up to assist taxpayers regarding any query they might have about the new tax regime. "We have been reaching out to trade and industry associations telling them that those who have about 10,000 invoices a day, they should upload it on GSTN portal on a daily/weekly basis to avoid last moment rush," Kumar said. So far, over 69 lakh excise, VAT and <keyword id="6355686" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Service-tax">Service Tax</keyword> assessees have migrated to the GSTN portal and nearly five lakh new registrations have happened under GST. Under GST, which is a single tax in place of multiple central and state levies like excise, service tax and VAT, businesses are required to upload on GSTN portal invoices of their trade every month. Kumar had earlier said that the offline Excel tool can upload 19,000 invoices data on GSTN portal at one go and the process takes just half a minute. So, if businesses which generate about 10,000 invoices a day upload the data on a daily or weekly basis, it would be less cumbersome for them. While uploading invoice on the GSTN portal, a business would need to mention the invoice number and date, customer name, shipping and billing address, customer and taxpayer's GSTIN, place of supply and <keyword id="6495954" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="HSN">HSN</keyword> code. Also, the taxable value and discounts and rates of CGST, <keyword id="6373967" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="SGST">SGST</keyword> and IGST would have to be filled, along with item wise details like description, quantity and price.

GSTN portal to be ready for invoice uploading from July 24

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=GST&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">GST</a> will benefit across the country, but <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> have a lot of reasons to rejoice. Simplifying the <keyword id="4776373" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tax-structure">tax structure</keyword> means startups can be both disruptive and innovative in their business models. 
 The <keyword id="6354679" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="GST">GST</keyword> will champion Indian Prime Minister <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Narendra+Modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Narendra </a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Narendra+Modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Modi</a>’s drive to build a more conducive environment for doing business in India. 
As the GST Bill appears in the Rajya Sabha today, Business Insider looks into the nitty-gritty of how this new tax structure can help startups in India. 
 
Easier to do business: 
A lot of startups in India, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-commerce&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">e-commerce</a> ones in particular have faced several gnawing tax regulations in several states. GST will bring a much needed uniform legislation where registration is centralized, and scaling isn’t a pain. 
 
Save on Logistics: 
In the day and age of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Amazon+Prime&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Amazon Prime</a>, your parcel can’t afford to get stuck at small border checkpoints due to tax issues. Inter-state commercial transport will get cheaper by up to 20%. 
 
Ashish Goel, CEO and Co-founder at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Urban+Ladder&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Urban Ladder</a> validates the point. "Introduction of GST will be a huge step by the government in backing its promise of ease of doing business. As a consumer <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> brand, our focus is on building a seamless supply chain and logistics network that helps us fulfil customer orders in different parts of the country" , he says. 
 
Moving right ahead! 
 
Boost India’s growth 
GST will boost India’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=GDP+growth&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">GDP growth</a>. How you ask - by bringing down the fiscal deficit. 
 GST will boost the GDP. “By eliminating the cascading effect of multiple Central and State taxes, GST would reduce the cost of doing business and increase profitability, which in turn, would attract investments and ultimately help <keyword id="44910" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="GDP-growth">GDP growth</keyword>,” the CRISIL analysis report stated. 
 
Mind, the end-consumer bears the GST charged by only the last dealer in the supply chain. This makes it for the consumer and increases the profitability of his business. Simplifying the tax regime would also lead to better compliance, i.e. better tax collection. This will help bring down the fiscal deficit. 
 
Exceptions for startups: 
Any business with revenue of over Rs. 5 lakhs has to pay VAT now. With GST coming in, this will be bumped up to Rs 10 lakhs. Also, businesses with revenues of up to Rs. 50 lakhs will have lower tax slabs. More savings means more expansion. 
 
Process gets simpler: 
A young startup can’t afford to spend too much time and energy looking into elaborate tax procedures. GST will help cut to the chase by integrating all taxes. 
 
Also, GST will not distinguish between sales and services. Tax calculation will get easier, meaning more time to brainstorm. 
 
The GST will help everybody. It seems so obvious now, doesn’t it? 
 
<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-49437737,width-600,resizemode-4,imglength-139495/news/economy/policy/finance-ministry-seeks-india-inc-views-on-certain-gst-provisions.jpg">Image Source</a>

GST – here’s how it will help
your startup

H&amp;R Block is one of the largest companies offering tax services worldwide. The company opened up its operations in India in 2012 with an objective of providing easy to use tax paying services to millions of individuals in the country. Some of the different services provided by H&amp;R Block include Individual <keyword id="2450498" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="income-tax-filing">Income Tax Filing</keyword>, U.S. Expat Tax Filing, Business Tax preparation and GST managed services. <keyword id="7873850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tax-filing-support">Tax filing support</keyword> to individuals H&amp;R Block provides tax filing services via two modes namely Income Tax e-Filing by Experts, and Self e-Filing of Income Tax Returns. In the former method, the individual registering for the services is allotted a dedicated tax expert who will guide the person with the entire process of tax filing. They can assist in helping the individual understand the modalities of the taxation, prepare the tax returns and file the ITR online. Alternatively, the individuals can also choose to pay the taxes themselves by using a highly intuitive online tax paying tool offered by their exclusive website. This is a wonderful tool that can extract the data from the individual’s Form 16 automatically enabling an easy filing of taxes online in just 3 easy steps. Tax filing support to businesses H&amp;R Block also provides tax filing services to businesses in two ways – firstly through personal interaction and secondly through the online filing services via ITR 3 and ITR 4. The GST managed services offered by the company is a comprehensive solution available to ensure compliance with GST. The portal takes care of all the needs related to GST including registration, reconciliation and return filing. In addition, businesses and individuals can benefit from the tools provided by the site including Income Tax Calculator, Advance Tax Calculator and a Ready Reckoner for Income tax that you can download from the site. Free tax fling with H&amp;R Block The dedicated website administered by H&amp;R Block offers free e-filing option in the online mode. In this connection, the individuals can also benefit from the expert tax preparation help provided by the experts working with the company. <keyword id="7873853" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Electronic-tax-filing">Electronic tax filing</keyword> Electronic tax filing is the process that enables individuals submit their tax returns to the IRS online. This is a highly desired process since this method significantly reduces the processing time for tax returns and also enables the individuals get a return quickly. Most times, it is not possible to find a free e-filing option. H&amp;R Block provides a range of tax filing options among which free e-filing is possible. How to use the free e-filing option? Individuals desiring to file their ITR free of cost online can benefit from the tax software offered by the site and the online tax filing mode offered by the company. The tax payers can get a free e-file credit provided by the organization. Majority of tax filing companies charge a lump sum fee for tax filing services. H&amp;R Block helps individuals avoid paying additional fee for completing the taxes online. If you can work properly with the several options provided by the site, you can explore ways to save a significant amount of fee on your tax filing.

Can I file my taxes free with H&R Block?

India's biggest tax reform, the <keyword id="6359833" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="goods-and-services-tax" source="Orion">Goods and Services Tax</keyword> (<keyword id="6354679" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gst" source="Orion">GST</keyword>), completes its half-a-decade journey on June 30, with many hits and some misses, and also brought about a paradigm shift in use of technology to bring about tax compliance and making over Rs 1 lakh crore revenue collection every month 'a new normal'. A nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST), which subsumed 17 local levies like excise duty, <keyword id="6355686" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="service-tax" source="Orion">service tax</keyword> and <keyword id="6370857" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vat" source="Orion">VAT</keyword> and 13 cesses, was rolled out at the stroke of midnight on July 1, 2017. Under GST, a four-rate structure that exempts or imposes a low rate of tax of 5 per cent on essential items and top rate of 28 per cent on cars is levied. The other slabs of tax are 12 and 18 per cent. In the pre-GST era, the total of VAT, excise, CST and their cascading effect led to 31 per cent as tax payable, on an average, for a consumer. Besides, there is a special 3 per cent rate for gold, jewellery and precious stones and 1.5 per cent on cut and polished diamonds. Besides, a cess is levied on the highest tax slab of 28 per cent on luxury, sin and demerit goods. The collection from the cess goes to a separate corpus — Compensation fund — which is used to make up for revenue loss suffered by the state due to GST rollout. GST also represents an unprecedented exercise in fiscal federalism as the Centre and states come together in the GST Council to thrash out modalities for smooth functioning of the relatively new tax regime. The Council has met 47 times so far and have taken measures which made Rs 1 lakh crore <keyword id="4943720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gst-collection" source="Orion">GST collection</keyword> per month 'a new normal' and on course to take the figure to Rs 1.4 lakh crore every month. As the government releases the June GST collection numbers on July 1, it is widely expected that the collections will follow the past four months' trend and be around Rs 1.4 lakh crore. The collections had touched a record Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April 2022, it had for the first time crossed Rs 1 lakh crore mark in collections in April, 2018. On the 5th anniversary of GST, <keyword id="4336899" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Central-Board-of-Indirect-Taxes-and-Customs" source="Orion">Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs</keyword> (CBIC) tweeted "GST subsumed multiple levies and cesses, reduced compliance burden, removed regional imbalances and inter-state barriers, and significantly increased the transparency and overall Revenue collection". Over the past years the Government has been proactively issuing circulars and clarifications to clear doubts regarding taxation under GST and ensure ease of doing business. More recently, the GST Council, in its 47th meeting in Chandigarh, has decided to ease compliance for small taxpayers who supply through the e-commerce platform. Such suppliers, who make only intra-state supplies, need not seek GST registration if their annual turnover is less than Rs 40 lakh in case of goods and Rs 20 lakh in case of supplies. To help tax officers in administration, GST Network, which provides the technological backbone for the indirect tax regime, has been using artificial intelligence and machine learning to dish out newer data and plug revenue leakages. Tax experts, however, seek a simpler structure for Goods and Services Tax, a structure which would ensure seamless flow of input tax credit through the entire supply chain without losses. BDO India Partner and Leader - Indirect Tax Gunjan Prabhakaran said “over the past five years, the GST law has evolved and mitigated several issues faced by the taxpayers through timely clarifications and amendments. "However, the GST Council and the Government should quickly address few other hardships faced by taxpayers in relation to unwarranted and excessive issuance of show cause notices (for reconciliations of financial numbers, grant of registration, etc) and introduce a robust, technology driven single assessment process, which would achieve the twin objective of ease of doing business and remove the cascading effect of taxes". AMRG &amp; Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said in the last five years, GST law has matured at a fast pace. First, the focus was on compliance and technology; sooner than later, it moved gears, and taxpayers were posed to self-regulate the annual filings. "Now it seems the law has entered the next phase whereby litigation needs to be reduced by either replacing ambiguous tax laws or clarifying the practical application of technical issues. Businesses expect the government to resolve all sectoral issues like would BPO/KPO qualify as an intermediary, tax credit for capital expenditure on building, levy of GST on Extra Neutral alcohol (ENA) etc," Mohan said. While the GST administration has moved forward with alacrity, it is still a long way to go to achieve the full potential of GST and make it a true 'good and simple tax'. With petrol, diesel, ATF outside GST, a large part of the economy is still not covered by the indirect tax regime. Inclusion of petroleum products under the GST net, could reduce cost for companies, tax experts say. With emerging technology, there is emergence of newer asset classes like the virtual digital assets (VDA) or cryptocurrency. There is a need for clarity on whether they would be classified as supply of 'goods' or 'services' and what would be the tax rate on them. Tax rate rationalisation is something which would happen sooner or later. Current inflationary concerns may have derailed the plans to tweak rates and GST slabs, but it would eventually be a reality as both the Centre and states need revenues and lesser slabs would mean a simplified tax regime. Besides, the decision makers in the Council too have to work out a solution as state governments, from July 1, 2022, stare at a stoppage of compensation for revenue loss due to GST implementation. When GST was rolled out on July 1, 2017, states were promised a compensation, from the cess fund, for five years if their GST collection falls short of the 14 per cent compounded revenue growth. Most states have sought an extension to the compensation mechanism and a final decision is likely to be taken at the next GST Council meeting in Madurai in the first week of August. Abhishek Jain, Partner Indirect Tax, KPMG in India, said going forward, the Government can consider setting up of Central authority to resolve conflicting AAR judgements across states and consider doing away with anti-profiteering provisions freeing businesses to set prices. "Further, bringing petroleum and electricity under GST ambit will help prevent cascading and ensure further uniformity. Lastly, some checks can also be incorporated on system generated GST notices, so as to avoid any unnecessary harassment of taxpayers," Jain said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/startups-like-unacademy-vedantu-blue-stone-caratlane-go-physical-from-digital-as-pandemic-boom-ends/articleshow/92564319.cms">Startups go physical from digital as pandemic boom ends</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/indian-credit-card-users-spend-40x-more-than-debit-card-users-online/articleshow/92543305.cms">Indian credit card users spend 40x more than debit card users online</a>

GST had its hits and misses but made ₹1.3 lakh crore monthly tax, the new normal

New Delhi, Dec 31 () The government is considering setting up an investment clearance cell and provide defined timelines for all kinds of state and central approvals to attract investments, an official said.
 In order to further ease the business climate of the country, it is also looking at developing a single application form for all kinds of clearances and provide deemed approvals, the official said.
 For onboarding central departments and states, the government is looking at two single point of contacts, one each from central department and state; list of licences and documents; detailed processes; timelines for each approval /deemed approvals; and support for IT systems integration from all departments, the official added.
 The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working on the proposal, which could be implemented in four phases.
 According to the proposal, an investor would also be able to track the status of his/her application.
 Currently, an investor has to seek several approvals such as company incorporation, GST registration, import export code, environment clearance, and NOC for ground water extraction, at central and state government levels.
 Investors require single application, self certification, document submission at single place, time bound/deemed approvals, real time status update.
 The department is also considering framing a law for the proposed investment clearance cell and defined timelines for approvals for central departments. RR ANU
ANU

Govt mulls single application form, investment clearance cell to woo investors

When I opened the Indian Express this morning, I was greeted with a large advertisement from <keyword id="6356684" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="patanjali">Patanjali</keyword> on the bottom right corner of the front page. 
	<div type="image" title="Patanjali" msid="64682417" hostid="261"></div>



 The consumer goods brand, which was founded by celebrity yogi <keyword id="6355107" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Baba-Ramdev">Baba Ramdev</keyword> in 2006, is looking to hire as many as 50 <keyword id="690083" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="salesmen">salesmen</keyword> in each district of India. With more than 700 districts, that culminates in a total hire of 35,000 people. In addition, the company also plans to get between 50 to 100 young people onboard in each district for the purpose of home delivery. The last date for registration for the four-day selection and training camp is 22 June, tomorrow. The company, which is known not to pay its employees very well (terming their efforts as “seva”) is offering a maximum monthly salary of ₹15,000. A return to growth The ad reflects the “urgency” of Patanjali Ayurved’s pan-Indian growth ambitions. At the beginning of this year, Baba Ramdev told the Economic Times that he planned to achieve <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fmcg/patanjali-eyes-rs-1-lakh-crore-turnover-in-next-2-3-yrs-baba-ramdev/videoshow/62525686.cms">a turnover of ₹1 trillion by 2020</a>, thereby becoming one of the country’s largest <keyword id="34523" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="fmcg">FMCG</keyword> brands. Aided by a hiring spree and strong distribution network, Patanjali recorded an unprecedented wave of growth in the first half of the decade by bombarding the Indian market with products in multiple categories, ranging from food, medicines, toiletries to home products. As a result, revenues grew exponentially each year, culminating in sales of <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/baba-ramdevs-patanjali-turnover-is-a-staggering-rs-10561-crore-in-fy17-100-rise-in-profits/653754/">₹105.6 billion</a> in 2016-17. However, diminishing returns soon kicked in. The company recorded a minimal growth in sales in the last financial year. A number of reasons have been cited for this, such as the short-term adjustment with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime which affected its retail partners, as well as delays in restocking and quality issues. With its GST problems behind it, the company is hoping to return to the level of growth it is used to seeing. It will likely focus its efforts on high-growth products in the next few years. It is also preparing the launch of its apparel brand, Patanjali Paridhan, and got a recent boost from the government of Uttar Pradesh, which approved its plans to build a ₹60 billion food processing centre in Noida.

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