PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, June 3: Raising several critical issues pertaining to GST Act and rules which have made the GST taxation system quite complicated, a delegation of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) led by its secretary general Praveen Khandelwal today met Vivek Johri, chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in New Delhi and while handing over a comprehensive memorandum on GST called upon the CBIC to streamline the GST tax structure in the country in pursuance of ease of doing business objective of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
CAIT delegation comprised Poonam Joshi noted tax advocate and chairman of GST Committee, office Secretary and others. Member, GST in CBIC and others were also present.
Vivek Johri appreciated the points raised by the delegation and said that the government is committed to providing ease of doing business under the GST regime.
However, there will be no sympathy with the tax evaders. He appealed to the traders through CAIT to follow timely compliance under GST and genuine problems of the traders will be redressed within no time.
While discussing GST issues, Khandelwal said that there is a wide scope for increasing the number of assesses across the Country but for that GST taxation system needs to be rationalised & simplified.
The trade associations across the country are willing to join hands with the government in widening the tax net and thereby yielding more revenue to both central and state governments.
He suggested that to monitor the implementation of GST and for the speedy redressal of the grievances of the traders, it would be appropriate to form a joint GST committee in every district comprising of tax officials and trade representatives.
CAIT national secretary Suresh Sonthalia said that GST has been implemented for now almost 5 years and both the Government & assesses have experienced benefits and loopholes of the GST tax system.
“It will be appropriate if the GST Council make a total review of the Act and Rules in consultation with stakeholders to make it a most acceptable tax system, ” he said.
Sonthalia while deliberating on some of the core and critical issues of GST said that so far no appellate tribunal has been formed either at the central level or at state levels resulting in gross inconvenience to the traders to the extent that even for a small disagreement on any issue, the traders have to seek legal recourse which is time-consuming and expensive too.
Likewise in the absence of a National Advance Ruling Authority, different tax rates on the same commodity are being levied thereby distorting the spirit of GST.
