India will launch a new national
Goods and Services Tax (GST) as planned on July 1, Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley said on Sunday, but will let companies file late returns for the firsttwo
months so that they can adapt to a new online filing system.
The GST, the biggest tax
reform in India's 70year history, will require firms to file three online
returns each month. Some
business lobby groups have
urged a delay to the rollout to allow more time to get ready.
Jaitley, speaking after a
meeting of a ST coordination panel, said there would be "a slight
relaxation of time" covering July and August before the strict GST filing
timetable would apply from September.
Companies would be able to
file simplified, aggregate returns in July and August, with a deadline of the
20th of the following month, said Hasmukh Adhia, a finance ministry official
steering the launch of the tax.Once fully up and running, the GST would require
companies to file a complete return of their sales invoices by the 10th of the
following month, with a second of their
purchase invoices by the
15th. A third return would calculate their tax bill. "Relaxation for
filing transactionwise returns in July, August ... will provide relief to the industry,"
said Harishanker Subramaniam, head of indirect tax at EY India. The GST marks a
technological leap forward for India it will be driven by an IT back end that
can process up to 5 billion invoices a month. It also poses a huge challenge
for larger companies to remodel their business process, while many smalltime traders
lack the technological knowhow to cope.More than 6.5 million businesses have
already signed up for the GST, Jaitley said, more than fourfifthsof those
already registered to pay India's old business taxes.
The GST Council will meet
again on June 30, the eve of the launch, Jaitley said
Source
: Economic Times
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