To ensure a glitch-free rollout of the next-generation GST with reduced rates and lesser slabs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired three separate meetings to assess GSTN's preparedness and the time it would take to implement technological changes required in the software systems.
GST Network on Saturday said beginning the July tax period, GST taxpayers will not be able to file monthly and annual GST returns after three years of the original filing due date. The July 2025 tax period means taxpayers will file
The government plans to implement the single rate GST, which would subsume central excise, service tax and other local levies, from April 1, 2016
The finance ministry has asked Infosys to provide within 15 days a plan for quick resolution of glitches on the GSTN portal, as it took strong note of the "unresolved" problems and "tardy" progress made over the last two years on multiple issues faced by taxpayers in filing returns. On Saturday, the revenue secretary A B P Pandey held a meeting with top Infosys officials on the persistent glitches seen on the GST network, and decided to ask Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani to make an urgent presentation before the GST Council on March 14.
Several opposition ruled states expressed concern over Centre's decision to allow enforcement directorate (ED) to share information with GST Network, with finance minister of AAP-ruled Punjab Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday saying it amounts to 'tax terrorism' and scaring small business. The finance ministry, through a notification, brought in an amendment to the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as per which GSTN, which handles the technology backbone of Goods and Services Tax, has been included in the list of entities with which ED will share information. At the 50th GST Council meeting on Tuesday, Aam-Aadmi Party ruled Delhi and Punjab voiced concerns over the notification and demanded a discussion.
The company will operate the IT system for five years.
'There is something fundamentally wrong with the GST -- whether be it the rates, compliance, or the GST Network itself.'
Businesses need to get on board in 15 days, ahead of indirect tax roll-out
'There were lots of functionalities the Group of Ministers asked us to incorporate.'
Businesses across the country may soon be required to issue electronic invoices, or e-invoices, directly to consumers for the sale of goods and services. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its forthcoming meeting on Monday, is expected to discuss extending the e-invoicing mandate to cover business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. Currently, e-invoicing is compulsory for businesses with a turnover of Rs 5 crore and above, but only for their business-to-business (B2B) transactions.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked Infosys and its chairman Nandan Nilekani to fix technical glitches being encountered on the income tax department's new e-filing website, after users flooded her Twitter timeline with complaints. Infosys was in 2019 awarded a contract to develop the next-generation income tax filing system to reduce processing time for returns from 63 days to one day and expedite refunds. The portal went live Monday evening.
Infosys had told the group of ministers that it would expand its 100-member team to speed up the bug fixes.
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's wish to levy indirect tax on petrol unlikely to be taken up
The aim of the exercise was to further simplify GST forms and make the filing process more user-friendly, the finance ministry said in a tweet, reports Dilasha Seth.
It shows that states would require a compensation to the tune of at least Rs 1.67 trillion in 2024-25, as none of them would be able to achieve a 14 per cent growth every year.
A day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman flagged technical glitches on the income tax department's new e-filing website, IT major Infosys said it expects the system to stabilise in the course of this week. On Tuesday, Sitharaman had asked Infosys and its chairman Nandan Nilekani to fix technical glitches being encountered on the income tax department's new e-filing website, after users flooded her Twitter timeline with complaints.
The instruction is that audit of large units be completed within seven working days, of medium units in five working days and of small ones in three.
The GST Network's chairman Navin Kumar speaks to Dilasha Seth and Indivjal Dhasmana on various aspects of the new tax regime.
The government of India holds 24.5 per cent stake in GSTN while states together hold another 24.5 per cent
In a string of tweets and replies, Swamy also said that GST can be implemented only if the Supreme Court clears a petition on levy of entry tax
The Centre's revenue from GST registered a decline of 10 per cent in 2017-18 compared to revenue of subsumed taxes in 2016-17.
Deadline ends, after two extensions and only 70% file detailed return for July
'The low tax to GDP ratio of the country will go up, helping the government to adhere to fiscal discipline and keep inflation in check.'
Six years after the rollout of the biggest indirect tax reform in India, Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue of Rs 1.5 lakh crore every month has become a new normal and tax officers are focusing on dealing with fraudsters who are adopting newer modus operandi to game the system, causing loss to the exchequer. To apprehend black sheep, who operate as syndicates and create fake entities on the basis of forged documents to claim input tax credit (ITC), tax officers have started using data analytics, artifical intelligence and machine learning aiming to curb evasion, which was over Rs 3 lakh crore since inception of GST. It was over Rs 1 lakh crore in 2022-23. Thinktank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said the most critical pending GST reform is upgradation of GST Network to prevent fake supplies and fraudulent claims of Input Tax Credit (ITC).
'We revolutionised the system in a manner so that the chances of leakage will be much lower than it was in the beginning.'
E-invoicing would be implemented on a voluntary basis by those having an annual turnover of above Rs 500 crore from January 1.
Ironically, West Bengal, which has been seeking a postponement of the GST roll-out, has fared better among most other states.
GSTN said those who do not want to give their Aadhaar numbers would have to undergo physical verification.
GSTN is planning a disaster recovery drill and hence services will not be available for 12 hours, between 9am and 9pm, on July 1, and has requested the taxpayers to plan GST-related activities on the portal accordingly.
'Significant reductions in the compliance obligations mean businesses earlier struggling to comply will now have enough time to prepare and comply within the extended timelines.'
To improve compliance, govt may introduce lottery reward for filing GST. The Consumer Welfare Fund, where anti-profiteering proceeds are deposited, will be used to reward the lucky winners on monthly and annual bases. The prize money, yet to be fixed, may run into several lakhs of rupees for the annual draw, and about Rs 50,000 for monthly draws.
It takes eight to nine months for developing a robust software from the time the rules are decided, warns Bharat Goenka, managing director of Tally Solutions, one of the entities entrusted as a 'Suvidha Provider' with developing ready software for customers to get them ready for the coming Goods and Services Tax.
'Through the use of technology, the GSTN will tip the balance in favour of compliance rather than tax evasion, lowering the barriers for entry into the tax payment system while making it much harder to cheat on payments,' says Nandan Nilekani.
Some may lose competitiveness due to higher compliance costs
The GoM will meet on Saturday to finalise single-stage, simplified, return filing under the GST; report will be placed before GST Council on March 10.
As taxpayers face technical glitch on the GST portal, the government on Tuesday said it is considering extending the April tax payment deadline and has directed Infosys for early resolution of the problem. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said a technical glitch has been reported by Infosys in generation of April 2022 GSTR-2B and auto-population of GSTR-3B on portal. "Infosys has been directed by Govt for early resolution. Technical team is working to provide GSTR-2B & correct auto-populated GSTR-3B at the earliest," the CBIC tweeted.
He also pointed out that the home ministry was neither consulted, nor did it give the necessary security clearance
A government report revealed that fake companies floated with fake addresses, issued fake GST invoices and generated fake e-way bills, with fake vehicle registration details without supplying any goods causing huge loss to the exchequer.
Despite a steady collection rate, the government faces a steep Budget target of Rs 6.1 trillion for CGST for 2019-20.
'So far, the government has sanctioned more than Rs 300 billion as GST refunds,' Ansh Bhargava and Aditya Singhania point out.
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