Seminar on GST

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, JAN 30: As part of the outreach programme of Central Board of Excise and Customs, the Central Excise & Service Tax Commissionerate, Shillong on Monday  organized a seminar on Goods and Service Tax (GST). Chairing the seminar, Central Excise, Customs & Service Tax, NER Chief Commissioner SK Panda explained how the introduction of the GST is a significant step in the field of indirect tax reforms.

Panda also said that GST is a transformational tax reform which will be transparent and help for easy compliance. As the GST would be IT driven, the need for human interface would be minimal.

He also stressed on the care to be taken at the time of migration/registration of assesses. He touched upon the need to ensure that assesses’ software is compatible with GSTN.

He laid special emphasis on the care to be taken with respect to transitional provisions.

In the question and answer session, the assesses raised many queries to which Panda explained on the basis of proposed legal provisions and the philosophy behind such provisions.

The chief commissioner said that Meghalaya as a consuming state will stand to benefit through the GST as the cost of production will come down.

“Consuming states will get more benefit because tax will be at the consumer point, a lot of tax benefit will come to the state,” he said adding that sales tax have been abolished and credits will be made available.

Stating that it is a consumer tax regime, he said, “Industry may grow or may not grow but more tax will come because this tax will be levied at the consumption point so naturally states in which the sales are there, they will be benefitted.”

Asked, the chief commissioner also said that the GST is a system made to prevent leakages.

He informed that under present tax regime over Rs 7000 crore is generated annually from the north east region.