|
|
Empowered committee hopes for GST rollout by April 2016
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
SME Times News Bureau | 12 Nov, 2014
The Empowered Committee of State
Finance Ministers on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Tuesday
expressed the hope that the tax regime could be implemented by the
proposed date - April 1, 2016 - notwithstanding their differences with
the Centre over some key provisions.
After their meeting here,
Committee chairman Abdul Rahim Rather said the Centre had written to the
Committee suggesting that the threshold annual turnover for levying GST
should be increased to Rs.25 lakh (Rs.2.5 million) from Rs.10 lakh
(Rs.one million).
The Committee had in August resolved to lower
the threshold limit for imposing GST on companies from a turnover of
Rs.25 lakh to Rs.10 lakh. As per their recommendation, GST would not be
imposed on businesses with an annual turnover of less than Rs.10 lakh.
Currently, the threshold for Value Added Tax (VAT) is Rs.10 lakh in most states.
The
empowered group also asked that states be given the legal powers to
collect tax from businesses with annual turnover of upto Rs.1.5 crore
(Rs.15 million).
"In September, the Centre wrote to us
suggesting that this decision of the Empowered Committee should be
reviewed. The Centre suggested that the limit should be Rs.25 lakh. Even
if it is not Rs.25 lakh, the Rs.10 lakh limit should be increased,"
Rather said.
"But finally the Committee took a decision that they
will go by the decision that is already taken, that is Rs.10 lakh," he
added.
Rather also said the final call on the threshold figure will be decided by the GST Council.
States also want petroleum, alcohol and tobacco to be kept out of the purview of GST.
"States
have already said that petroleum, alcohol, tobacco should be excluded
from GST. We are waiting for the response from the Centre. We have not
received the revised draft Bill. We will discuss and offer our
comments," Rather said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Sunday
that the first tranche of compensation to states to make up for their
revenue loss from the phasing out of Central Sales Tax (CST) may also be
taken up in the winter session of parliament.
The previous
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had in 2011 introduced a
Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha towards the introduction of
the GST. States sought a five-year compensation package and asked for
its inclusion in the bill.
States like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh
and Uttar Pradesh, which were earlier standing in the way of GST, have
now said they are not opposed to it as long as their concerns are
addressed.
Jaitley has assured parliament that the government
will seek to move the amendments this year itself, besides already
assuring states that he would clear their compensation dues of about
Rs.34,000 crore ($5.5 billion) over a three-year period.
On the
vexed issue of dual control of traders by both the central and state
governments, the demand was for legal powers to collect tax from
businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs.1.5 crore.
Those
below the turnover threshold of Rs.1.5 crore would pay their taxes to
states, which would subsequently pass on to the central exchequer.
Seen
as a key to facilitating industrial growth and improving the business
climate in the country, the GST bill needs to be passed by a two-thirds
majority in both houses of parliament and by the legislatures of half of
the 29 states to become law.
CST was one of the major roadblocks for a GST, which was originally scheduled to come into effect from April 1, 2010.
While
CST is levied by the Centre on inter-state movement of goods and
collected by states, the issue of compensation arose because the central
government cut the CST from 4 percent to 2 percent in phases, after
state-level VAT was introduced from April 1, 2005.
By subsuming
most indirect taxes levied by the central and state governments such as
excise duty, service tax, VAT and sales tax, GST proposes to facilitate a
common market across the country, leading to economies of scale and
reducing inflation through an efficient supply chain.
Full
implementation of GST could lift India's gross domestic product (GDP)
growth by 0.9-1.7 percentage points, according to a study by the
National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|