The greatest tax reform in the history of India, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) has completed six months of its implementation. While the Central Government’s promise to bring the country under one tax regime is progressing gradually, the Indian populace is also slowly adapting to the new indirect tax regime.
Here is the chronology of developments made pertaining to GST so far
Government notifies 1 per cent GST on manufacturers under composition scheme
The Centre has notified lower than one per cent GST rates for manufacturers who have opted for composition scheme as well as easier norms for traders opting for it. This notification revises the earlier GST charge of 2 per cent to 1 per cent. More than 15 lakh businesses opted for composition scheme.
Extension of GSTR-1 filing deadline
The Central Government recently updated the deadline for filing first of the three comprehensive GST returns — GSTR-1 to January 10 from December 31.
Rate Cuts
In a bid to enable a convenient process and inflate the compliance by slashing the rates, post its 23rd meeting the GST Council announced rate cuts on as many as 178 items, following which the revenue fell significantly.
E-way Bill
Taking a strong step towards tax evasion, the Council approved an early roll-out of the e-way bill for the inter-state movement.
Post the implementation of this new initiative, tax avoidance will be very difficult as the government will have a complete track of the movement of all goods above the value of Rs 50,000. It will be able to trap the mismatch if either the supplier or the purchaser skip filing tax returns.
Fall in GST collection
The collections pertaining to GST reported the second fall to Rs 80,808 crore in November. The figure was Rs 83,000 crore in September last year.
National Anti-profiteering Authority
For protecting the consumers’ interest, the centre established the National Anti-profiteering Authority under the GST. This body has the authority to put a check on undue benefit availed businesses and suppliers in the name of GST.
GST to be levied on natural gas
According to various media reports, the natural gas is most likely to get included in the ambit of GST in next couple of months.
