Central GST

Presenting the Budget 2011-12 in the Parliament today, the Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee stressed that introduction of Direct Taxes Code (DTC) and Goods & Services Tax (GST) will result in moderation of rates, simplification of laws and better compliance. He said DTC will be finalized for enactment during next financial year. The DTC Bill that was introduced in the Parliament in August 2010 is before the Standing Committee. Full Article

To begin with, next year, he suggested, the Centre will adopt a three-rate formula. While Mukherjee proposed that the rate of taxation for services be fixed at 8 per cent, a dual-rate regime for goods was recommended at the meeting of the empowered committee of state finance ministers. The Centre plans to keep a lower rate of 6 per cent for certain goods and maintain a standard rate of 10 per cent in the first year. Full Article

The new composition provides a simpler method of calculating tax liability. In a bid to reduce the cost of administering small traders in the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the finance ministry plans to collect taxes from businesses below a turnover of Rs 1 crore at a defined floor rate, which will be much lower than the GST rate. Full Article

First paper on Goods and Service tax (‘GST’) was introduced on 10 November 2009 since then there is a constant wait among professionals and industrialists for Goods and Service tax legislature. Pending the clearance of issues involved in GST regime there was a report of Task force on 15 December, 2009. This report deals with several issues in detail and lays down the path of GST in India. We here under try to summarize the report of 170 pages only in few pages. Full Article

In a landmark decision, the UPA government has resolved to amend the Constitution to enable states to have the same powers as the Centre in administering the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST). Full Article

Though the Centre and states officially exuded confidence in meeting the revised deadline to roll out GST from the next fiscal, an agreement over the structure for the proposed indirect tax system does not seem to be so easy. While the states have proposed two rates for goods under GST on the grounds that necessary items should attract lower rate, the Centre has suggested one rate, saying a two-rate structure would pose problems. Full Article

So far, VAT at the state or Cenvat at the central level, along with services tax, have been major steps in tax reforms. Before the present tax regime, there was the sales tax regime, where there was a cascading effect on tax. VAT has removed this burden, but it had deficiencies. The Cenvat load remains. There were several state taxes which were not subsumed in any one tax. The inter-state sales tax or CST was not fully relieved. Full Article

The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers unveiled the First Discussion paper on Goods and Service Tax in India on 10th November 2009. This discussion paper provides us with broad contours of dual GST to be implemented in India. Full Article