(FE)
As it meets on May 4 via video conferencing, the Goods and Services Tax Council will have many items on the agenda, including adoption of a simplified system, which will make compliance easy, without compromising on revenue for the government. It will also consider a proposal for the government to have majority stake in GST Network, the IT backbone for the new tax, and imposition of a cess on sugar to create a fund that will help mills clear cane dues owed to farmers.
Sources said the Council is keen on approving the new IT model for tax payment, credit disbursement and compliance monitoring (via a semi-automatic invoices-matching). A durable system that addresses the concerns of both the government and taxpayers has been hanging fire since September last year, when the Council had effectively suspended the original system. While the taxpayers are currently using the interim summary return to discharge their tax liabilities, the system lacks anti-evasion features. Under a new model approved by a group of ministers earlier, taxpayer won’t have to file returns; the IT system will produce monthly returns based on supply data uploaded and inward supplies accepted.
