Goods and Service Tax – GST – By: – Pradeep Jain – Dated:- 4-8-2015 Last Replied Date:- 6-8-2015 – Introduction:- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is the most awaited reformation in the indirect tax structure of India which is planned to be implemented w.e.f. April 1, 2016. It has been the most happening topic in the parliament since December 19, 2014 when The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014 was first presented by the Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha. In this piece of writing, the authors have made an attempt to give an insight of merits and probable threats in GST proposals. About GST:- GST is a Value Added Tax proposed to be levied in lieu of manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services. It will replace all indirect taxes whether levied on goods and services by the Central and State governments including Central Excise Duty, Countervailing Duty, Service Tax, Value added tax, Octroi and entry tax, luxury tax, etc. It will be implemented c
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indirect tax is kept keeping in view the cascading effect and due provisions are framed to lower down the same. However, more the no. of taxes, more the cascading effect. When we talk of excise duty, service tax or VAT, there are Cenvat credit rules which allow the credit of input tax/duty suffered by the material or service so used. Still there are cases where the cascading effect is clearly visible but there is no mechanism in the law to deal with it. For eg. entry tax, octroi, etc. Almost every goods are subject to these taxes but no credit is allowable as these are collected normally by local bodies. Thus, ultimately these taxes form part of the cost of product which is further subject to excise duty or service tax or VAT. Thus, cascading effect do exists. This particularly happens when the same goods or service suffers a no. of taxes and no set off facility is available. Implementation of GST will bring drastic reduction in the cascading effect as most of the indirect taxes prevai
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ards. In the year 2006, Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment in the case of M/s BSNL and others wherein it was held that if the sale of the SIM card is merely incidental to the service being provided and facilitates the identification of the subscribers, their credit and other details, it would not be assessable to sales tax. While giving this decision, Supreme Court held that both the taxes cannot be levied on single transaction. But interestingly, even after this judgment there are several transactions which are subject to both service tax and excise duty. Further, there is a concept of works contract, both in the VAT law as well as in service tax. Though in both the laws, there is a provision of abatement or composite scheme, still there is part of total value which is subject to both VAT and service tax. All these problems will come to an end after implementation of GST. Rationalization of tax structure & simplification of compliance procedure:- At present, there are multiple
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be maintained by employing man, money and energy. This ultimately leads to inefficient utilization of nation s resources. Increase in product competitiveness in international market:- With the implementation of GST, in long run, there will be reduction in overall cost of products manufactured in India. This will make Indian products more competitive in International market. It is worth mentioning here that many of our top competitors in the international market have already switched to GST. Implementing GST in India will be a step forward in making our product more cost effective in international market. PROBABLE THREATS IN GST PROPOSAL:- Lots of publicity has been made about the benefits of implementing GST. However, on going through the GST proposal, it is found that there are some grey areas which sighs that it is nothing but a carry forward of VAT, excise duty and service tax in new name and fame. Let s have a look on these areas of negativity of GST:- Rate of GST: It s on higher
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It has been proposed that Decision in GSTC shall be taken at a meeting, by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely:- (a) The vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of onefourth of the total votes cast, and (b) The votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of three-fourth of the total votes cast, in that meeting. And the vote of each state shall have a weightage proportionate to the population of that State. [emphasis supplied] Thus, while assigning the weightage to vote, the population has been made the prime criteria. It is worthwhile to mention here that there are certain states which have very less population but their share in taxes is on much higher side. Such states, though contributing more, will lag behind in the decision making process taking place at GST Council. 1% additional tax on supply of goods:- It has been propose
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may not take effective steps for smooth run of GST as they are being compensated for the losses. It is also possible that the actual loss is much lower than that shown on records in order to get higher compensation. The Central Government will have to take steps to ensure that this proposal in the GST bill is not misused by the States. GST Proposal: Not friendly to important service sector like banks:- It is much hyped that GST will bring Indian goods a step forward in the International market. The reasons so given are that the GST will make Indian products cheaper in long run and thus will promote exports. In this regard, it is to be noted that the banking sector pays an important role in the exports. Whether it is export of service or export of goods, the role of banks is vital. It is worthwhile to mention here that at present service tax @ 14% is being levied on the banking transactions. On introduction of GST, this rate will be on much higher side as predicted. This will ultimatel
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s proposal which was explained by the Government that if any separate body is constituted for dispute resolution, it will hamper the working of GSTC in general and of legislature in particular. However, even after this explanation, there are possibilities that the decision taken on the disputes are not true and fair, particularly when they relate to small states which possess lower voting power (since voting weightage is based upon population). If any separate body is not constituted, the task of laying down the dispute resolution mechanism will be the toughest one. While parting:- The introduction of GST along with other government initiatives like the make in India programme have the potential to drastically bring down costs, re-define and re-shape the economy of India. The benefits of implementing GST have been much talked but the probable threats have only been popularized as opposition party s publicity stunts to hamper the implementation of GST. Whatever be the case, the fact is
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