Summer Internship Report

On

“An Explanatory Study of Goods and Services Tax”

Submitted Toward the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement For The

Award of the Degree of
Master of Business Administration (F&C)

Under the Guidance of

Mr. Deepak Kr. Gupta (Chartered Accountant)
Sachin Agarwal and Gupta Chartered Accountants

Submitted To- Submitted By-

Dr Mohd Arif Name: Sunidhi Singh
Assistant Professor Class: MBA (F&C)
Institute of Management Sciences Roll No.:180013160092
Batch: 2017-2019

Institute of Management Sciences

University of Lucknow (New Campus)
Lucknow
Certificate

ii
 Declaration

I, Sunidhi Singh, hereby declare that project report entitled -“An Explanatory Study of
Goods and Services Tax”is written and submitted by me to Institute of Management
Science, University of Lucknow in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Award of the
Degree of Master of Business Administration (F&C) under the guidance of Dr Mohd Arif.

Place- Lucknow Sunidhi Singh

Date-

iii
 Acknowledgement

In order to accomplish a task, facts, situations and persons integrate together to form a
background. “Greatness lies in being grateful and not in being great.”
This research report is a result of contribution of distinct personalities whose guidance
here made my effort a producing one, as “no task is a single man’s effort”.

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to the members of the firm for their
precious suggestions and encouragement during the project.
I am highly obliged to Prof. Vinod Singh, OSD,Institute of Management Science, and
University of Lucknow for granting me to carry out my summer internship project on -
“An Explanatory Study of Goods and Services Tax”.
I am thankful to my project guide Dr. Mohd Arif for his kind support and supervision
under whose kind and constant guidance this project came to an end.

iv
 Preface

This project gives an overview of the Goods and Services tax. Goods and
Service Tax or GST as it is known is all set to be a game changer for the
Indian Economy Taxation system. GST evolved an all India One
Nation One Tax regime. In India, there were different indirect taxes
applied on goods and services by central and state government. GST
includes all these taxes into one tax with seamless ITC and charged on
both goods and services. For the introduction of GST, the Government
has the Constitution Amendment Bill passed so that the proposed
objective of subsuming all taxes and allowing states to tax subjects in
Union list and vice versa is achieved. Without these powers, it was not
legally possible to move towards GST. GST is expected to have
numerous benefits like reduction in compliances in the long run since
multiple taxes will be replaced with one tax. It is expected to bring down
prices and hence the inflation since it will remove the impact of tax on tax
and enable seamless credit.

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 Executive Summary

The following project outlines the beginning of Goods and services tax in
India and its subsequent introduction in the economic environment of the
country. The objective of the study is to recognize the concept of GST
and to study its features to form the analytical understanding of the Goods
and services tax.

Only secondary data was used to prepare this report. This report is
divided into few chapters such as introduction to Goods and services tax,
overview of GST in other countries and in India, introduction to tax and
elaboration of GST insights, impact of GST on Indian economy. The last
chapter is about the conclusion and recommendations which are drawn
from analysis of whole study.

The main findings of the study are as follows: The GST is a consolidated
tax based on a uniform rate of tax fixed for both goods and services and it
is payable at the final point of consumption. Once GST is successfully
implemented, most of the current challenges of the country will be story
of the past. India will become a single market where goods can move
freely and there will lesser compliances to deal with for businesses. The
benefits of GST will definitely outweigh the disadvantages of GST.

Some recommendation of the study are: there should be a Standardization

of systems and procedure. In case of branch transfers a tax relief should
be provided. There should be a uniform settlement process with basic
trainings provided o both tax payers and tax enforcers.

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 Table of Content
CERTIFICATE .........................................................................................................................................II

DECLARATION......................................................................................................................................III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................................................... IV

PREFACE ................................................................................................................................................ V

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... VI

TABLE OF CONTENT ......................................................................................................................... VII

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1

BACKGROUND OF GOODS AND SERVICE TAX OUTSIDE INDIA ....................................................................... 3

BACKGROUND OF GOODS AND SERVICE TAX IN INDIA ................................................................................. 5

METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................. 10

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY .................................................................................................................................. 10

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 10

DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................................................................ 11

DUAL GST MODEL TO BE INTRODUCED IN INDIA ........................................................................................ 11

GST PORTAL ............................................................................................................................................ 13

GST REGISTRATION .................................................................................................................................... 14

TAXES UNDER GST ..................................................................................................................................... 20

ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................................................. 26

GST CALCULATION .................................................................................................................................... 26

GST BENEFITS TO COMMON MAN ................................................................................................................ 27

IMPACT OF GST .......................................................................................................................................... 31

LIMITATION OF GST ................................................................................................................................... 35

CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 38

RECOMMENDATION .......................................................................................................................... 39

REFERENCE .......................................................................................................................................... 40

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 Introduction

Goods and Service Tax or GST as it is known is all set to be a game

changer for the Indian Economy Taxation system. GST evolved an all
India One Nation One Tax regime. It has now been more than a decade
since the idea of national Goods and Services Tax (GST) was mooted by
Kelkar Task Force in 2004. The Task Force strongly recommended fully
integrated ‘GST’ on national basis.

The Union Finance Minister Shri P. Chidambaram, while presenting the

Central Budget (2006-2007), announced for the first time a proposal to
introduce a national level GST by April 1, 2010. However, GST missed
several deadlines and continued to be surrounded by clouds of
uncertainty. Since now, the former finance minister of India Arun Jaitley
in his budget speech of 2015 has announced time and again that the tax
will be introduced on 1 April 2016. In India, there are different indirect
taxes applied on goods and services by central and state government. GST
is intended to include all these taxes into one tax with seamless Input Tax
Credit and charged on both goods and services. Thus, excise duty, special
additional duty, service tax, VAT to name a few will get repealed and will
be added into GST. For this, GST will have 3 parts CGST, SGST and
IGST. The central taxes like excise duty will be subsumed into CGST and
state taxes like VAT into SGST. For the introduction of GST in the above
form, the Government needs to get the Constitution Amendment Bill
passed so that the proposed objective of subsuming all taxes and allowing
states to tax subjects in Union list and vice versa is achieved. Without
these powers, it is not legally possible to move towards GST. However,
the Lok Sabha passed the Bill on 6th May 2015 and Rajya Sabha on 3rd
August 2016. Subsequent to ratification of the Bill by more than 50% of
the States, Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 received the
assent of the President on 8thSeptember, 2016 and became Constitution
(101st Amendment) Act, 2016, which paved the way for introduction of
GST in India.

In the following year, on 27th March 2017, the Central GST legislations -
Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017, Integrated Goods and
Services Tax Bill, 2017, Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Bill,
2017 and Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017
were introduced in Lok
Sabha. Lok Sabha passed these bills on 29th March 2017 and with the
receipt of the President’s assent on 12th April 2017, the Bills were
enacted. The enactment of the Central Acts is being followed by the
enactment of the State GST laws by various State Legislatures.
Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Goa and Bihar are among the
first ones to pass their respective State GST laws.
Government is endeavoring to roll out GST by 1st July 2017, by
achieving consensus on all the issues relating thereto. It is geared to attain
July 1st deadline for implementation of GST across India. GST is a path
breaking indirect tax reform which will create a common national market
by dismantling inter-State trade barriers. GST has subsumed multiple
indirect taxes like excise duty, service tax, VAT, CST, luxury tax,
entertainment tax, entry tax, etc. For successful implementation of GST, it
is necessary that the Government at both Centre and state levels, agree to
merge all their taxes into CGST/SGST. Further, the base for taxation for
both has to be the same. The exemptions, abatements etc. under GST need
to be common for both Centre and all states to avoid litigation. Further
exemptions/exclusions should be minimum to avoid break of credit chain.
The law needs to provide for single point compliances, absence of
multistate audits etc. for the assesse.
Conceptually GST is expected to have numerous benefits like reduction in
compliances in the long run since multiple taxes will be replaced with one
tax. It is expected to bring down prices and hence the inflation since it
will remove the impact of tax on tax and enable seamless credit. It is
expected to generate revenue for the country as the tax base will increase
as the GST rate will be somewhere around 27% with both goods and
services covered. It is also expected to make exports from India
competitive and India a preferred destination for foreign investment since
GST is a globally accepted tax. France was the first country to implement
GST in the year 1954. Within 62 years of its advent, about 160 countries
across the world have adopted GST because this tax has the capacity to

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 raise revenue in the most transparent and neutral manner. Before the
impending GST, addressing issues faced by the financial service industry
is important. The industry is currently facing issues inter alia on
determining nature of taxability of their incomes, input credit recovery,
deciding the place of provision of their service, issues like intermediary
service income, interchange income, correspondent bank charges income,
format of the service tax returns, time limits for compliances and revision
of returns, and so on. Unless these issues are addressed the industry
would face major hurdles with GST. GST is a multistate tax with
compliances expected in different states.

Thus, it is imperative to address the issue of “place of supply” with clarity

before GST. Further double taxation issues like taxing intermediary
services, interchange income, correspondent bank charges etc. needs to be
addressed so that India is globally competitive. Issues around
compliances need to be clarified since going forward there is an
apprehension of multistate compliances and so on. However, there is a
huge hue and cry against its implementation. It would be interesting to
understand why this proposed GST regime may hamper the growth and
development of the country.

Background of Goods and Service Tax outside India

Goods and Service is also known as the Value Added Tax (VAT) or
Harmonized Sales Tax. Worldwide, almost 160 countries have introduced
GST in one or the other form since now. Most of the countries have a
unified GST system. Brazil and Canada follow a dual system vis-à-vis
India has introduced. In China, GST applies only to goods and the
provision of repairs, replacement and processing services.

Following are some successfully implemented GST models in other

countries:
France: -

• France was the first country to introduce GST in 1954.

• In France, the sales tax rate is a tax charged to consumers based
on the purchase price of certain goods and services.

3
• Sales Tax Rate in France averaged 19.71 percent from 2000 until
2018, reaching an all-time high of 20 percent in 2014 and a record
low of 19.60 percent in 2001.
Australia: -
• Goods and services tax (GST) is a broad-based tax of 10% on
most goods, services and other items sold or consumed in
Australia.
• GST is administered by the Tax office on behalf of the Australian
Government, and is appropriated to the states and territories.
• Every company whose turnover exceeds $75,000 is liable for
registration under GST and in default 1/11th of the income and
some amount is form of penalty.
• There are provisions for credit back of GST, submission of
returns according to limit decided, Maintenance of records etc.
There they have to keep records for 5 years for the purpose of
GST.
Canada: -
• Canada's federal value-added taxing system is called the Goods
and Services Tax (the GST), and is provided for in Part IX of the
Excise Tax Act (the ETA). The GST is a 5% tax applied
federally.
• Since 1997, several Canadian provinces have abandoned their
traditional "retail sales tax" systems, in favor of harmonizing their
rules with the federal GST, and charging a "Harmonized Sales
Tax" (HST) in their particular provinces, over and above the 5%
federal rate.
NewZealand: -
• GST is a tax of 15% on most goods, services and other items sold
or consumed in New Zealand.
• A person becomes liable to register for GST when the annual
turnover exceeds NZ$60,000 in any 12-month period.
• Depending on the turnover, a registered person can elect to file
returns monthly, two-monthly or six-monthly.

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China:-
China completed Value Added Tax (VAT) reforms in 2016 to replace its
conflicting Business Tax system. Doing away with business tax and other
taxes and switching to VAT has contributed to bursting of the Chinese
real estate bubble. China also has partial GST, on some goods.
Japan:-
Introduced consumption tax in 1989 at a rate of 3%. In 1997 this
increased to 5% and Japan went into recession. In 2012, Diet doubled the
tax to 10%. Later the Shinzo Abe government delayed tax increase until
April 2017. In 2016, a second postponement was announced which
pushes the increase to October 2019.

Background of Goods and Service Tax in India

The Kelkar Task Force on implementation of FRBM23 Act, 2003 had
pointed out that although the indirect tax policy in India has been steadily
progressive in the direction of VAT Principle since 1986, the existing
system of taxation of goods and services still suffers from many
Problems. The tax base is fragmented between Centre and States.
Keeping significance of GST in view, an announcement was made by
then our Ex – Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram in his four
consecutivebudget speeches from 2004 to 2008.

Deficiencies in the existing Value-Added Taxation

 In the present regime, a manufacturer of excisable goods charges
excise duty and value added tax (VAT) on intra-State sale of
goods. However, the VAT dealer on his subsequent intra-State
sale of goods charges VAT (as per prevalent VAT rate as
applicable in the respective state) on value comprising of (basic
value + excise duty charged by manufacturer + profit by dealer).

 Further, in respect of tax on services, service tax is payable on

taxable services provided. w.e.f. 1 July 2012, service tax is levied
on all ‘services’ other than the Negative list of services as

5
 provided under Section 66D of the Finance Act, 1994 or else
otherwise exempted vide the Mega Exemption Notification

Presently, from 1 June 2016, service tax is levied @ 15% [Service

tax @ 14%, Swachh Bharat Cess (SBC) @ 0.5% (w.e.f.
November 15, 2015) and Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) @ 0.5%
(w.e.f. June 1, 2016)] on specified services provided by service
providers in India.

 The existing indirect tax framework in India suffer from various

shortcomings. Under the existing indirect tax structure, the various
indirect taxes being levied are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

 To illustrate, when the goods are manufactured and sold both

central excise duty (CENVAT) and State-Level VAT are levied.
Though CENVAT and State-Level VAT are essentially value
added taxes, set off of one against the credit of another is not
possible as CENVAT is a central levy and State-Level VAT is a
State levy. Moreover, CENVAT is applicable only at
manufacturing level and not at distribution levels. The existing
sales tax regime in India is a combination of origin based (Central
Sales Tax) and destination based multipoint system of taxation
(State-Level VAT). Service tax is also a value added tax and credit
across the service tax and the central excise duty is integrated at
the central level.

 Despite the introduction of the principle of taxation of value added

in India - at the Central level in the form of CENVAT and at the
State level in the form of State VAT – its application has remained
piecemeal and fragmented on account of the following reasons.

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Need for GST

GST- a cure for ills of

Defiencies in existing Has lead to exising indirect tax
taxation system regime

Preparation for GST

The GST will require legislative and constitutional changes. As the time
gap between formation and implementation is very less. Therefore,
following things need to be done: -

• Constitutional amendment to enable state to levy service tax.

• Center to tax goods beyond factory Gates

• Laws of central excise act 1944 and finance act 1994 needs to be

replaced.

• Existing VAT laws needs to be repealed.

• It is highly expected that all steps are taken to ensure that no

pending work relating to Sales Tax, VAT or other Indirect Taxes

remains outstanding before implementation of GST so that

everybody can concentrate on new law.

• Central and State Government should be prepared to fulfil the

expectations for Trade and Industries.

• Record keeping will have to be changed and IT software will have

to be updated in order to comply with GST provisions.

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 • Trade and Industries will have to rethink market strategies, stock

transfer pricing and go down keeping policies in different states.

• Uniform dispute settlement machinery

• Adequate training for both tax payers and tax enforcers.

GST - A cure for ills of Existing indirect tax

 A comprehensive tax structure covering both goods and services viz.
Goods and Service Tax (GST) would address these problems.
Simultaneous introduction of GST at both Centre and State levels would
integrate taxes on goods and services for the purpose of set-off relief and
will ensure that both the cascading effects of CENVAT and service tax
are removed and a continuous chain of set-off from the original
producer’s point/ service provider’s point up to the retailer’s
level/consumer’s level is established.
 In the GST Regime, the major indirect taxes have been subsumed in
the ambit of GST. The present concepts of manufacture or sale of goods
or rendering of services are no longer applicable since the tax is now
levied on “Supply of Goods and/or services”.
 GST is a tax on goods and services with value addition at each stage
having comprehensive and continuous chain of set of benefits from the
producer’s / service provider’s point up to the retailer’s level where only
the final consumer should bear the tax.
 Consistent with the federal structure of the country, the GST will have
two components: one levied by the Centre (hereinafter referred to as
Central GST), and the other levied by the States (hereinafter referred to as
State GST). This dual GST model would be implemented through
multiple statutes (one for CGST and SGST statute for every State).
However, the basic features of law such as chargeability, definition of
taxable event and taxable person, measure of levy including valuation
provisions, basis of classification etc. would be uniform across these
statutes as far as practicable. GST is also referred as value added tax
(VAT). It is a tax government collected at the final purchase

8
consumption. However, according to Hooper and Smith (1997), GST is
actually collected at various stages of the production process.
Accordingly, there is output tax, a GST tax charges by the suppliers on
taxable goods and services and input tax, a tax incurred by businesses on
goods and services purchases. It is noted that GST is not a cost to the
sellers and would not appear in financial statements as expenditure.
Recently, the government initiative to introduce Goods and Services Tax
(GST) has been a growing topic of interest in Malaysia. Despite the
increasing popularity and
 Success of GST implementation around the world (Hooper & Smith,
1997), Malaysian citizens are not entirely convinced with this new tax
scheme. There are debates mainly centered on the advantages and
disadvantages derived from the new tax initiative. As per as India is
concerned Agogo Mawuli (May 2014) studied, “Goods and Service Tax
an Appraisal” and found that GST is not good for low-income countries
and does not provide broad based growth to poor countries. If still these
countries want to implement GST then the rate of GST should be less
than 10% for growth. Dr. R. Vasanth Gopal (2011) studied, “GST in
India: A Big Leap in the Indirect Taxation System” and concluded that
switching to seamless GST from current complicated indirect tax system
in India will be a positive step in booming Indian economy. Success of
GST will lead to its acceptance by more than 130 countries in world and a
new preferred form of indirect tax system in Asia also. Ehtisham Ahmed
and Satya Poddar
 (2009) studied, “Goods and Service Tax Reforms and
Intergovernmental Consideration in India” and found that GST
introduction will provide simple and transparent tax system with increase
in output and productivity of economy in India. But the benefits of GST
are critically dependent on rational design of GST.

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 Methodology

Objective of study
The study has following objectives:
1) To recognize the concept of GST

2) To study the features of GST

3) To evaluate the advantages and challenges of GST

4) To furnish information for further research work on GST.

Research Methodology
Being an explanatory research, it is based on secondary data of journals,
articles, newspapers, magazines and online websites. Considering the
objectives of study descriptive type research design is adopted to have
more accuracy and rigorous analysis of research study. The accessible
secondary data is intensively used for research study.

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 Data collection

Dual GST Model to be introduced in India

 India will adopt a dual GST which will be imposed concurrently by the
Centre and States, i.e. Centre and States will simultaneously tax goods
and services. Centre will have the power to tax intra-State sales & States
will be empowered to tax services. GST will extend to whole of India
except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

 GST is a destination based tax applicable on all transactions involving

supply of goods and services for a consideration subject to exceptions
thereof. GST in India will comprise of Central Goods and Service Tax
(CGST) - levied and collected by Central Government, State Goods and
Service Tax (SGST) - levied and No CENVAT after manufacturing stage
Non-inclusion of several local levies in State VAT such as luxury tax,
entertainment tax, etc. No integration of VAT & service tax Cascading of
taxes on account of (i) levy of Non-VAT able CST and (ii) inclusion of
CENVAT in the value for imposing VAT Double taxation of a
transaction as both goods and services collected by State
Governments/Union Territories with State Legislatures and Union
Territory
Goods and Service Tax (UTGST) - levied and collected by Union
Territories without State Legislatures, on intra-State supplies of taxable
goods and/or services. Inter-State supplies of taxable goods and/or
services will be subject to Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST).
IGST will approximately be a sum total of CGST and SGST/UTGST and
will be levied by Centre on all inter-State supplies.

There is single legislation – CGST Act, 2017 for levying CGST.

Similarly, Union Territories without State Legislatures[Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu
and Chandigarh] will be governed by UTGST Act, 2017 for levying
UTGST. States and Union territories with their own legislatures [Delhi
and Pondicherry] have to enact their own GST legislation for
11
 levyingSGST. Though there would be multiple SGST legislations, the
basic features of law, such as chargeability, definition of taxable event
and taxable person, classification and valuation of goods and services,
procedure for collection and levy of tax and the like would be uniform in
all the SGSTlegislations, as far as feasible. This would be necessary to
preserve the essence of dualGST.

 In GST regime, tax (i.e. CGST and SGST/UTGST for intra-State

supplies and IGST for inter-State supplies) shall be paid by every taxable
person and in this regard provisions have been prescribed in the law.
However, for providing relief to small businesses, a simpler method of
paying taxes and accounting thereof is also prescribed, known as
Composition Scheme. Along with providing relief to small-scale
business, the law also contains provisions for granting exemption from
payment of tax on specified goods and/or services.

 Input Tax Credit (ITC) of CGST and SGST/UTGST will be available

throughout the supply chain, but cross utilization of credit of CGST and
SGST/UTGST will not be possible, i.e. CGST credit cannot be utilized
for payment of SGST/UTGST and SGST/UTGST credit cannot be
utilized for payment of CGST. However, cross utilization will be allowed
between CGST/SGST/UTGST and IGST, i.e. credit of IGST can be
utilized for the payment of CGST/SGST/UTGST and vice versa.

 Since GST is a destination based consumption tax, revenue of SGST will

ordinarily accrue to the consuming States. The inter-State supplier in the

12
 exporting State will be allowed to set off the available credit of IGST,
CGST and SGST/UTGST (in that order) against the IGST payable on
inter-State supply made by him. The buyer in the importing State will be
allowed to avail the credit of IGST paid on inter-State purchase made by
him. Thus, unlike the existing scenario where the credit chain breaks in
case of inter-State sales on account of non-VAT able CST, under GST
regime there is a seamless credit flow in case of inter-State supplies too.
The revenue of inter-State sale will not accrue to the exporting State and
the exporting State will be required to transfer to the Centre the credit of
SGST/UTGST used in payment of IGST. The Centre will transfer to the
importing State the credit of IGST used in payment of SGST/UTGST.
Thus, inter- State trade of goods and services (IGST) would need a
robust settlement mechanism amongst the States and the Centre. A
Central Agency is needed which can act as a clearing house and verify
the claims and inform the respective Governments to transfer the funds.
This is possible only with the help of a strong IT Infrastructure.
 Resultantly, Goods and Services Network (GSTN) - a Special Purpose
Vehicle – has been set to provide a shared IT infrastructure and services
to Central and State Governments, taxpayers and other stakeholders for
implementation of GST.

GST PORTAL
The government’s portal (ref fig.1) for GST compliance is finally live
and open for business registrations. The GST portal is hosted at
https://www.gst.gov.in/.Existing taxpayers or new businesses can apply
to register and submit the required documents.

13
Figure (1)

GST Registration

Every business carrying out a taxable supply of goods or services under

GST regime and whose turnover exceeds the threshold limit of Rs. 20
lakh/ 10 Lakh as applicable will be required to register as a normal taxable
person. This process of registration is referred as GST registration.

Importance of GST Registration

GST registration is critical because it will enable you to avail various

benefits that are available under the GST regime. One such benefit is to
avail seamless input tax credit. Multiple taxes are being clubbed under
GST and thus the cascading of taxes that is prevailing currently will no
longer be the case. Also, timely registration will help you avoid any kind
of interface with tax authorities.

Casual Registration

A person who occasionally supplies goods and/or services in a territory

where GST is applicable but he does not have a fixed place of business.
Such a person will be treated as a casual taxable person as per GST.

14
Example: A person who has a place of business in Bangalore supplies
taxable consulting services in Pune where he has no place of business
would be treated as a casual taxable person in Pune.

Composition Dealer

This is an option available to small businesses and taxpayers having a

turnover less than Rs. 75 lakhs. They can opt for Composition scheme
where they will tax at a nominal rate of 1% or 2.50% (for manufacturers)
CGST and SGST each

(Rates will be notified later). They will be required to maintain much less
detailed records and file only 1 quarterly return instead of three monthly
returns. However, they cannot issue taxable invoices, i.e., collect tax from
customers, but are required to pay the tax out of their own pocket. They
cannot also claim any input tax credit. Composition levy is available to
only small businesses. It is not available to interstate sellers, e-commerce
traders, and operators.

GSTIN

For any dealer registered under state VAT law, a unique TIN number is
issued by the respective state tax authorities. Similarly, a service provider
is assigned a service tax registration number by the Central Board of
Excise and Custom (CBEC). Going forward, in the new GST regime, all
these taxpayers will get consolidated into one single platform for
compliance and administration purposes and will be assigned registration
under a single authority. The government has set up GSTN–a special
purpose vehicle to provide the IT infrastructure necessary to support GST
digitally. It is expected that 8 million taxpayers will be migrated from
various platforms into GST. All of these businesses will be assigned a
unique Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN). But
most are yet not aware of the new registration process and the
identification number.

15
GST Identification Number (GSTIN)
A complete break-up of the proposed GST Identification Number. Each
taxpayer will be allotted a state-wise PAN-based 15-digit Goods and
Services Taxpayer Identification Number (GSTIN).

 The first two digits of this number will represent the state code as
per Indian Census 2011
 The next ten digits will be the PAN number of the taxpayer
 The thirteenth digit will be assigned based on the number of
registration within a state
 The fourteenth digit will be Z by default
 The last digit will be for check code

A format of proposed GSTIN has been shown in the image below.

The functions of the GSTN, inter alia, include:

• Facilitating registration;

• Forwarding the returns to Central and State authorities;

• Computation and settlement of IGST;

• Matching of tax payment details with banking network;

• Providing various MIS reports to the Central and the State

Governments based on the taxpayer return information;

• Providing analysis of taxpayers' profile;

• Running the matching engine for matching, reversal and reclaim

of input tax credit.

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 Migration to GST
All existing Central Excise and Service Tax assesses and VAT dealers
will be migrated to GST. To migrate to GST, assesses would be provided
a Provisional ID and Password by CBEC/State Commercial Tax
Departments.

Provisional IDs would be issued to only those assesses who have a valid
PAN associated with their registration. An assessed may not be provided
a Provisional ID in the following cases:

1. The PAN associated with the registration is not valid

2. The PAN is registered with a State Tax authority and Provisional

ID has been supplied by the said State Tax authority.

3. There are multiple CE/ST registrations on the same PAN in a

State. In this case, only 1 Provisional ID would be issued for the

1st registration in the alphabetical order provided any of the above

2 conditions are not met.

The assesses need to use this Provisional ID and Password to login to the
GST Common Portal https://www.gst.gov.in where they would be
required to fill and submit the Form 20 along with necessary supporting
documents.

Multiple Registrations under GST

A person with multiple business verticals in a state may obtain a separate

registration for each business vertical.

PAN is mandatory to apply for GST registration (except for a non-resident

person who can get GST registration on the basis of other documents).

A registration which has been rejected under CGST Act/SGST Act shall

also stand rejected for the purpose of SGST/CGST act

17
Penalties for Not Registering Under GST
An offender not paying tax or making short payments has to pay a penalty of 10% of
the tax amount due subject to a minimum of Rs. 10,000. The penalty will be high at
100% of the tax amount when the offender has evaded i.e., where there is a deliberate
fraud. However, for other genuine errors, the penalty is 10% of the tax due.

GST Return
GST Monthly Returns: -
Gst return procedure (ref fig no.2) Based on the category of registered
person such as monthly return is to be filed by Regular, Foreign Non-
Residents, ISD and Casual Tax Payers whereas Compounding/Composite
tax payers has to file quarterly returns:

Figure 2

18
 Need to File Return inGST Regime
• Every registered dealer is required to file return for the prescribed tax
period. A Return needs to be filed even if there is no business activity (i.e.
Nil Return) during the said tax period of return.

• Government entities / PSUs, etc. not dealing in GST supplies or persons

exclusively dealing in exempted / Nil rated / non –GST goods or services
would neither be required to obtain registration nor required to file returns
under the GST law.

• However, State tax authorities may assign Departmental ID to such

government departments / PSUs / other persons and will ask the suppliers
to quote this ID in the supply invoices for all inter-State purchases being
made to them.

Salient Features of GST Return

• Filing of returns would only be through online mode. Facility of offline

generation and preparation of returns will also be available. The returns
prepared in the offline mode will have to be uploaded.

• There will be a common e-return for CGST, SGST, IGST and Additional
Tax.

• A registered Tax Payer shall file GST Return at GST Common Portal
either by himself or through his authorized representative.

• There would be no revision of Returns. Changes to be done in subsequent

Returns

19
Taxes under GST
Designed as a uniformed tax for the entire nation, GST will replace the following
indirect taxes earlier levied by the Centre and the State:
(i) Taxes levied and collected by the Centre:
a. Central Excise duty
b. Additional Duties of Customs (commonly known as CVD)
c. Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD)
d. Service Tax
AND
(ii) Taxes levied and collected by the State:
a. State VAT
b. Central Sales Tax
c. Entertainment and Amusement Tax (except when levied by the local bodies)
d. Taxes on lotteries, betting and gambling

20
Figure 3

Intra-State Movement: -

An intra-State supply if the goods remain within the same State.

A supply of Services shall be -
(a) An inter-State supply if the service provider and the service recipient
are located in different States.
(b) An intra-State supply if the service provider and the service recipient
are located in the same State.

Inter- State Movement: -

An inter-State supply if the supply involves the movement of goods from

one State to another.

Explanation: Where the movement of goods commences and terminates in

the same State it shall not be deemed to be a movement of goods from
one State to another by reason merely of the fact that in the course of such
movement the goods pass through the territory of any other State.

21
CGST: -

CGST means Central Goods and Service Tax. CGST is a part of goods
and service tax. It is covered under Central Goods and Service Tax Act
2016. Taxes collected under Central Goods and Service tax will be the
revenue for central Government. Present Central taxes like Central excise
duty, Additional Excise duty, Special Excise Duty, Central Sales Tax, and
Service Tax etc. will be subsumed under Central Goods and Service Tax.

SGST: -

SGST means State Goods and Service Tax. It is covered under State
Goods and service Tax Act 2016. A collection of SGST will be the
revenue for State Government. After the introduction of SGST all the
state taxes like Value Added Tax, Entertainment Tax, Luxury Tax, and
Entry Tax etc. will be merged under SGST. For example, if goods are
sold or services are provided within the State then SGST will be levied on
such transaction.

IGST: -

IGST means Integrated Goods and Service Tax. IGST falls under
Integrated Goods and Service Tax Act 2016. Revenue collected from
IGST will be divided between Central Government and State Government
as per the rates specified by the government. IGST will be charged on
transfer of goods and services from one state to another state. Import of
Goods and Services will also be deemed to be covered under Inter-state
transactions so IGST will be levied on such transactions. For example, if
Goods or services are transferred from Rajasthan to Maharashtra then the
transaction will attract IGST.
Tax Slabs
The new GST rules sort goods and services into a variety of different tax
slabs. A tax slab refers to a group of goods and services that are taxed at a
certain rate, and under the new system, the tax slabs are 5, 12, 18, and
28%. As a general rule of thumb, essential goods and services fall into the

22
lower tax slabs, and in some cases, they are even exempt. Luxury
products and services, in contrast, are taxed at higher rates.

Exempted GST Rate Slab (No Tax)

7% goods and services fall under this category. Some of these that are of
regular consumption include fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, butter
milk, curd, natural honey, flour, besan, bread, all kinds of salt, jaggery,
hulled cereal grains, fresh meat, fish, chicken, eggs, along with bindi,
sindoor, kajal, bangles, drawing and coloring books, stamps, judicial
papers, printed books, newspapers, jute and handloom, hotels and lodges
with tariff below INR 1000 and so on.

5% GST Rate Slab

14% goods and services fall under this category. Some of these include
apparel below INR 1000 and footwear below INR 500, packaged food
items, cream, skimmed milk powder, branded paneer, frozen vegetables,
coffee, tea, spices, pizza bread, rusk, sabudana, cashew nut, cashew nut in
shell, raisin, ice, fish fillet, kerosene, coal, medicine, agarbatti (incense
sticks), postage or revenue stamps, fertilizers, rail and economy class air
tickets, small restaurants, and so on.

12% GST Rate Slab

Edibles like frozen meat products, butter, cheese, ghee, dry fruits in
packaged form, animal fat, sausages, fruit juices, namkeen, ketchup &
sauces, ayurvedic medicines, all diagnostic kits and reagents, cellphones,
spoons, forks, tooth powder, umbrella, sewing machine, spectacles,
indoor games like playing cards, chess board, carom board, ludo, apparels
above INR 1000, non-AC restaurants, business class air ticket, state-run
lottery, work contracts and so on attract a 12% GST. 17% of goods and
services fall under this category.

18% GST Rate Slab

43% of goods and services fall under this category. Pasta, biscuits,
cornflakes, pastries and cakes, preserved vegetables, jams, soups, ice
23
cream, mayonnaise, mixed condiments and seasonings, mineral water,
footwear costing more than INR 500, camera, speakers, monitors,
printers, electrical transformer, optical fiber, tissues, sanitary napkins,
notebooks, steel products, headgear and its parts, aluminum foil, bamboo
furniture, AC restaurants that serve liquor, restaurants in five-star and
luxury hotels, telecom services, IT services, branded garments and
financial services and so on attract an 18% GST.

28% GST Rate Slab

19% of goods and services fall under this category. The rest of edibles
like chewing gum, bidi, molasses, chocolate not containing cocoa,
waffles and wafers coated with chocolate, pan masala, aerated water,
personal care items like deodorants, shaving creams, after shave, hair
shampoo, dye, sunscreen, paint, water heater, dishwasher, weighing
machine, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, automobiles, motorcycles,
5-star hotel stays, race club betting, private lottery and movie tickets
above INR 100 etc. have been clubbed together under the 28% GST slab.

List of Taxes Not Covered Under GST

The following tax and product types are not covered under GST. Business
owners making sales or purchases of these products should make sure
they understand the specific tax requirements that will still be imposed
beyond GST assessments.
Tax on items containing alcohol
Alcoholic beverages for human consumption is kept out of the purview of
GST as an exclusion mandated by constitutional provision. Sales
Tax/VAT could be continued to be levied on alcoholic beverages as per
the existing practice. VAT is levied on alcohol purchases in some states,
and there will be no objection to that. Excise duty, which is presently
levied by the states, may also be unaffected.
Tax on Petroleum Products
The full range of petroleum products, including crude oil and motor
spirits including Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) and High Speed Diesel

24
 (HSD), is kept outside GST, as is the prevailing practice in India. Sales
tax could continue to be levied by the states on these products with the
prevailing floor rate. Similarly, Centre could also continue its levies. As
for petroleum products, although the GST constitutional amendment
provides for levying GST on these products, it allows the timeframe for
their inclusion to be decided by the GST Council. Therefore, in the initial
years of GST, petroleum products will remain out of the scope of GST.
The existing taxation system under VAT and the Central Excise Act will
continue for both of the commodities listed above.
Schedule III: -Activities or transactions which shall be treated neither as
a supply of goods nor a supply of services

1. Services by an employee to the employer in the course of or in relation to

his employment.
2. Services by any Court or Tribunal established under any law for the time
being in force.
3. Functions performed by the MPs, MLAs, Members of municipality and
Member of other local authorities.
4. Duties performed by any person who holds any constitutional post.
5. Duties performed by any person as a Chairperson or a Member or a
Director in a body established by the Central Government or a State
Government or
Local authority and who is not deemed as an employee before the
commencement of this clause.
6. Services of funeral, burial, crematorium or mortuary including
transportation of the deceased.
7. Sale of land and sale of building where entire consideration has been
received after issuance of completion certificate.
8. Actionable claims other than lottery, betting and gambling.

25
 ANALYSIS
GST Calculation
Model of GST with example:

The GST shall have two components: one levied by the Centre
(referred to as Central GST or CGST), and the other levied by the
States (referred to as State GST or SGST). Rates for Central GST
and State GST would be approved appropriately, reflecting
revenue considerations and acceptability.
The CGST and the SGST would be applicable to all transactions
of goods and services made for a consideration except the
exempted goods and services.
Cross utilization of ITC both in case of Inputs and capital goods
between the CGST and the SGST would not be permitted except
in the case of inter-State supply of goods and services (i.e. IGST).
The Centre and the States would have concurrent jurisdiction for
the entire value chain and for all taxpayers on the basis of
thresholds for goods and services prescribed for the States and
the Centre.
THE FOLLOWING COMPARISION SHOW THE BENEFIT OF
GST: -

Comparison between Multiple Indirect tax laws and proposed one law

Particulars Without GST With GST

(Rs.)

Manufacture to Wholesaler
Cost of Production 5,000.00 5,000.00

Add: Profit Margin 2,000.00 2,000.00

Manufacturer Price 7,000.00 7,000.00
Add: Excise Duty @ 12% 840 –
Total Value(a) 7,840.00 7,000.00
Add: VAT @ 12.5% 980 –
Add: CGST @ 12% – 840
26
Add: SGST @ 12% – 840
Invoice Value 8,820.00 8,680.00

Wholesaler to Retailer

COG to Wholesaler(a) 7,840.00 7,000.00

Add: Profit Margin@10% 784 700
Total Value(b) 8,624.00 7,700.00
Add: VAT @ 12.5% 1,078.00 –
Add: CGST @ 12% – 924

Add: SGST @ 12% – 924

Invoice Value 9,702.00 9,548.00
Retailer to Consumer:
COG to Retailer (b) 8,624.00 7,700.00
Add: Profit Margin 862.4 770
Total Value(c) 9,486.40 8,470.00
Add: VAT @ 12.5% 1,185.80 –
Add: CGST @ 12% – 1,016.40
Add: SGST @ 12% – 1,016.40
Total Price to the Final consumer 10,672.20 10,502.80
Cost saving to consumer – 169.4
% Cost Saving – 1.59
Notes: - Input tax credit available to wholesaler is Rs.980 and Rs. 1,680 in
case of without GST and with GST respectively.
Likewise Input tax credit available to Retailer is Rs. 1,078 and Rs. 1,848 in
case of without GST and with GST respectively.

In case, VAT rate is also considered to be 12%, the saving to consumer

would be 1.15%.

GST benefits to common man

The basis of Goods and Services Tax is the seamless flow of Input Tax
Credit (ITC) along the entire value addition chain. At every step of the
manufacturing process, businesses will have the option to claim the tax
already paid in the previous transaction. Understanding this process is
crucial for businesses. A detailed explanation here.

27
To understand this, let us first understand what Input Tax Credit is. It is
the credit an individual receives for the tax paid on the inputs used in
manufacturing the product. So, if there is a 10% tax that the individual
must submit to the government, he can subtract the amount he has paid in
taxes at the time of purchase and submit the balance amount to the
government.

Understand this with a hypothetical numerical example.

Say a shirt manufacturer pays Rs. 100 to buy raw materials. If the rate of
taxes is set at 10%, and there is no profit or loss involved, then he has to
pay Rs. 10 as tax. So, the final cost of the shirt now becomes Rs
(100+10=) 110.

At the next stage, the wholesaler buys the shirt from the manufacturer at
Rs. 110, and adds labels to it. When he is adding labels, he is adding
value. Therefore, his cost increases by say Rs. 40. On top of this, he has
to pay a 10% tax, and the final cost therefore becomes Rs. (110+40=) 150
+ 10% tax = Rs. 165. Now, the retailer pays Rs. 165 to buy the shirt from
the wholesaler because the tax liability had passed on to him. He has to
package the shirt, and when he does that, he is adding value again. This
time, let’s say his value add is Rs. 30. Now when he sells the shirt, he
adds this value (plus the VAT he has to pay the government) to the final
cost. So, the cost of the shirt becomes Rs. 214.5 Let us see a breakup for
this: Cost = Rs. 165 + Value add = Rs. 30 + 10% tax

= Rs. 195 + Rs. 19.5 = Rs. 214.5

So, the customer pays Rs. 214.5 for a shirt the cost price of which was
basically only Rs. 170 (Rs 110 + Rs. 40 + Rs. 30). Along the way the tax
liability was passed on at every stage of transaction and the final liability
comes to rest with the customer. This is called the Cascading Effect of
Taxes where a tax is paid on tax and the value of the item keeps
increasing every time this happens.

28
Action Cost 10% Tax Total

Buys Raw Material @ 100 100 10 110

Manufactures @ 40 150 15 165

Adds value @ 30 195 19.5 214.5

Total 170 44.5 214.5

In the case of Goods and Services Tax, there is a way to claim credit for
tax paid in acquiring input. What happens in this case is, the individual
who has paid a tax already can claim credit for this tax when he submits
his taxes.

In our example, when the wholesaler buys from the manufacturer, he pays
a 10% tax on his cost price because the liability has been passed on to
him. Then he adds value of Rs. 40 on his cost price of Rs. 100 and this
brings up his cost to Rs. 140. Now he has to pay 10% of this price to the
government as tax. But he has already paid one tax to the manufacturer.
So, this time what he does is, instead of paying Rs (10% of 140=) 14 to
the government as tax, he subtracts the amount he has paid already. So, he
deducts the Rs. 10 he paid on his purchase from his new liability of Rs.
14, and pays only Rs. 4 to the government.
So, the Rs. 10 becomes his input credit.

When he pays Rs. 4 to the government, he can pass on its liability to the
retailer. So, the retailer pays Rs. (140+14=) 154 to him to buy the shirt. At
the next stage, the retailer adds value of Rs. 30 to his cost price and has to
pay a 10% tax on it to the government. When he adds value, his price
becomes Rs. 170. Now, if he had to pay 10% tax on it, he would pass on
the liability to the customer. But he already has input credit because he

29
has paid Rs.14 to the wholesaler as the latter’s tax. So, now he reduces
Rs. 14 from his tax liability of Rs. (10% of 170=) 17 and has to pay only
Rs. 3 to the government. And therefore, he can now sell the shirt for Rs.
(140+30+17) 187 to the customer.

Action Cost 10% Tax Actual Liability Total

Buys Raw Material 100 10 10 110

Manufactures @ 40 140 14 4 154

Adds Value @ 30 170 17 3 187

Total 170 17 187

In the end, every time an individual was able to claim input tax credit, the
sale price for him reduced and the cost price for the person buying his
product reduced because of a lower tax liability. The final value of the
shirt also therefore reduced from Rs. 214.5 to Rs. 187, thus reducing the
tax burden on the final customer.

So essentially, Goods & Services Tax is going to have a two-pronged

benefit. One, it will reduce the cascading effect of taxes, and second, by
allowing input tax credit, it will reduce the burden of taxes and, hopefully,
prices.

30
 Impact of GST
Overall GST Impact: -
a) Change in law and procedure: Since it is a major indirect tax reform in
India, there would be new legislations and procedures. The entire indirect
tax code would be a new one.
b) Change in tax-rates: The standard rate of 12.5 % for central excise, Service
tax, along with residuary rate of VAT at 12.5-14.5% brings the overall rate
to 25%-30%. But, post GST, the general rate will be 18%; a net gain of
almost 7%-12%. Most of the dealers and consumers would experience the
change in tax rates, either significantly or marginally. When the tax rates
are increased for some products it could lead to tax evasion as well.
c) GST based on HSN: The central excise tariff based classification would no
longer be applicable. It would reduce the interpretational issues in respect
of class of commodities.
d) Ailment of tax credit: GST would facilitate near seamless credit across the
entire supply chain and across all States under a common tax base. At
present no cross credits are available across central excise/service tax to
local VAT/sales tax. Under the GST law, the input tax credit (ITC) (set
off) would be given for Central GST against CGST and the States would
give input tax credit (ITC) SGST to SGST. Cross utilization of credit
between Central GST and State GST would not be allowed.
e) Credit ailment based on vendor’s invoices: The credit of excise duty
paid is available based on the excise invoice raised by manufacturer or
service provider. The credit is available under the Service Tax law when
the invoice amount is paid within 3 months of the invoice date. In respect
of joint charge and reverse charge, based on receipt of payment on the
basis of payment challans of the assesse. Under State VAT law, credit is
allowable on the basis of tax invoice. Under GST the credits could be
availed based on the invoices of vendors under CGST and SGST. But the
onus may shift onto the assesse to ensure that the amount of the
CGST/SGST has been deposited in the respective Government treasury by
the vendor. This provision has been added to bring in tax discipline but
smaller businesses may find transaction cost increasing due to this.

31
f) Avoidance of Double Taxation: Presently, several transactions suffer VAT
as well as Service Tax such as works contract or licensing of software.
This could be resolved under the GST regime by redefining what is goods
and service.
g) Changes in the Accounting Software: Dealers and service providers need
to modify/replace the accounting and taxation software. Initially there
could be investment costs, costs of training in GST of people at each level
starting from junior/mid to higher level managerial staff, management
group/stakeholders.
h) Training: Comprehensive training would be required to the staff members
of the business community, both at senior level and also at junior level
across the purchase, sales and finance functions. VAT + CE/ ST officers
would also need to understand the law well.
i) Competent Professionals: There are specialized consultants for Excise
Duty, Service Tax and VAT. With the GST, only a single consultant
maybe required who can handle all GST matters. Compliance for the SME
may necessitate competent tax preparers
j) Amending existing contracts: Assesses have to incorporate an extra clause
in the existing contracts to collect CGST and SGST as applicable.

On India: -
Goods and Services Tax (GST) is expected to provide the much-needed
stimulant for economic growth in India by transforming the existing basis
of indirect taxation towards free flow of goods and services within the
economy and also eliminating the cascading effect of tax on tax. In view of
the important role that India is expected to play in the world economy in
the years to come, the expectation of GST being introduced is high not
only within the country, but also in neighboring countries and in developed
economies of the world.
Some of the imp impacts are: -
a) Increased FDI: The flow of Foreign Direct Investments may increase
once GST is implemented as the present complicated/ multiple tax laws
are one of the reasons foreign Companies are wary of coming to India in
addition to widespread corruption.

32
 (b) Growth in overall revenue: It is estimated that India could get revenue
of $15 billion per annum by implementing the Goods and Services Tax as
it would promote exports, raise employment and boost growth. Over a
period, the dilution of the principles may see that only part of this is
accruing.

(c) Single point taxation: Uniformity in tax laws will lead to single point
taxation for supply of goods or services all over India. This increases the
tax compliance and more assesses will come into tax net.

(d) Simplified tax laws: This reduces litigation and waste of time of the
judiciary and the assesse due to frivolous proceedings at various levels of
adjudication and appellate authorities. Present law appears to be much
worse and an amalgam of the bad parts of VAT/ ST/ CE.

(e) Increase in exports and employment: GST could also result in

increased employment, promotion of exports and consequently a
significant boost to overall economic growth and factors of production -
land labor and capital.
ON INDIAN ECONOMY: -
• Reduce tax burden on producers and foster growth through more
production. This double taxation prevents manufacturers from producing
to their optimum capacity and retards growth. GST would take care of
this problem by providing tax credit to the manufacturer.

• Various tax barriers such as check posts and toll plazas lead to a lot of
wastage for perishable items being transported, a loss that translated into
major costs through higher need of buffer stocks and warehousing costs
as well. A single taxation system could eliminate this roadblock for them.

• A single taxation on producers would also translate into a lower final

selling price for the consumer.

33
• Also, there will be more transparency in the system as the customers
would know exactly how much taxes they are being charged and on what
base.

• GST would add to government revenues by widening the tax base.

• GST provides credits for the taxes paid by producers earlier in the
goods/services chain. This would encourage these producers to buy raw
material from different registered dealers and would bring in more and
more vendors and suppliers under the purview of taxation.

• GST also removes the custom duties applicable on exports. Our

competitiveness in foreign markets would increase on account of lower
cost of transaction.

• The proposed GST regime, which will subsume most central and state-
level taxes, is expected to have a single unified list of
concessions/exemptions as against the current mammoth exemptions and
concessions available across goods and services

The introduction of Goods and Services Tax would be a very noteworthy

step in the field of indirect tax reforms in India. By amalgamating a large
number of Central and State taxes into a single tax, it would alleviate
cascading or double taxation in a major way and pave the way for a
common national market. From the consumer point of view, the biggest
advantage would be in terms of reduction in the overall tax burden on
goods and services. Introduction of GST would also make Indian products
competitive in the domestic and international markets. Last but not the
least, this tax, because of its transparent character, would be easier to
administer. However, once implemented, the system holds great promise
in terms of sustaining growth for the Indian economy.

34
Limitation of GST

Why No To GST?

For quite some time now, it has been clear that the people most keen on
this “reform” are big industrialists, especially multinationals. Since they
are big, they cannot evade state or central taxes on goods. Their crib is
that they have to compete with companies in the unorganized sector
which often pay no tax.

FIRST, as we noted above, it helps the big more than the small. Since the
proposal is that companies with a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore will have to
pay GST, it means many small companies will end up paying taxes. The
big companies will benefit, as they will now get deductions on the taxes
paid by their small suppliers. Since the initial GST rate could be
anywhere from 15-25 percent (depending on what is left out of its ambit),
that’s a huge tax bite for the small. The key beneficiaries of GST will be
sectors such as batteries, footwear, plywood, electrical appliances,
ceramics, adhesives and paints, where the unorganized sector accounts for
35-70 percent of total market size.” The latter’s loss will be the gain of
their competitors in the organized sector.

SECOND, if the unorganized sector is going to lose some of its

competitive edge initially, it means there will be pressures for layoffs in
companies that can’t compete as a result of GST implementation. In the
short run, GST may end up costing jobs till the smaller companies learn
to compete. And small companies are the biggest job creators anywhere
in the world.

THIRD, if we assume that those evading excise (legally or otherwise)

currently will henceforth start paying the tax, it means they have to raise
prices to stay profitable. Taxes up, prices up. In the short-term, GST may
boost the prices of some segments of the economy.

35
Beside above mentioned, some other reason Businesses need to

Overcome in the GST Regime,

 Change in Business Software

 GST Compliance

 Increase in Operating Costs

 Policy Change During the Middle of the Year

 Online Procedure

 Higher Tax Burden for Manufacturing SMEs

 No Clarity on Tax Holidays

 Disruption to Business

36
 FINDINGS

A “Feast of Findings” is how Chief Economic Adviser Arvind

Subramanian describes the insights yielded by the implementation of a
Goods and Service Tax. Noting that there has been a fifty percent increase
in the number of indirect taxpayers, the Economic Survey 2018 points out
that “many have voluntarily chosen to be part of the GST, especially small
enterprises that buy from large enterprises and want to avail themselves of
input tax credits”.
Some of the important findings of the project are:-

 GST presents one nation one tax regime which ultimately leads to a
common tax for all the states of the country.

 The process of tax payment is simplified. GST Portal provides a simple

and effective platform for registration and payment of tax liability to the
taxpayers.

 Implementation of GST reduces the tax burden not only on the common
buyer but also on the business units. It removes the cascading effect of tax
payment ultimately providing a tax relief.

 Implementation of GST also lead to the economic boom in the economy.

 GST has also increased the need for the skilled personals specializing in
the concept of GST. Not everyone is technologically educated to extract
the benefit of the GST.

 GST was implemented in a hurry surpassing the steps preparing the

economy for its effects good or bad.

37
 CONCLUSION

From the above discussion, it is clear that GST is basically an indirect tax
that brings most of the taxes imposed on most goods and services, on
manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services, under a single
domain at the national level. In the past system, taxes are levied
separately on goods and services. The GST is a consolidated tax based on
a uniform rate of tax fixed for both goods and services and it is payable at
the final point of consumption. At each stage of sale or purchase in the
supply chain, this tax is collected on value-added goods and services,
through a tax credit mechanism. Introduction of the Value Added Tax
(VAT) at the Central and the State level was considered to be a major step
– an important breakthrough – in the sphere of indirect tax reforms in
India. If the VAT is a major improvement over the pre-existing Central
excise duty at the national level and the sales tax system at the State level,
then the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is indeed be a further significant
improvement – the next logical step – towards a comprehensive indirect
tax reforms in the country.
Once GST is successfully implemented, most of the current challenges of
this move will be a story of the past. India will become a single market
where goods can move freely and there will lesser compliances to deal
with for businesses. The benefits of GST will definitely outweigh the
disadvantages of GST.
The Economic Survey 2018 points out that here has been a fifty percent
increase in the number of indirect taxpayers, “many have voluntarily
chosen to be part of the GST, especially small enterprises that buy from
large enterprises and want to avail themselves of input tax credits”. The
Survey states that the number of unique indirect taxpayers has increased
by more than 50 percent, or 34 lakh, under GST to 98 lakh. Data on these
filers shows that only 13 percent of their total transactions are business-
to-consumer transactions. Business-to-business transactions account for
34 percent of the total and exports 30 percent.

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 RECOMMENDATION

Some suggestions for better administrative way to handle and implement

of goods and service tax act in India are: -
• Standardization of systems and procedure

• Tax relief in case of branch transfer

• Well defined procedures in case of job works

• Uniform dispute settlement procedure

• Adequate training for both tax payers and tax enforcers

• Re-organization of administrative machinery for GST implementation

• Building information technology backbone – the single most important

initiative for GST implementation

• Uniform implementation of GST should be ensured across all states

(unlike the staggered implementation of VAT) as many issues might arise

in case of transactions between states who comply with GST and states

who are not complying with GST.

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 REFERENCE

• Mehra, P (2015) Modi govt.’s model for GST may not result in

significant Growth push. The Hindu.

• Girish Garg, (2014), “Basic Concepts and Features of Good and Service
Tax in India

• Nitin Kumar (2014), “Goods and Service Tax in India-A Way Forward”,
“Global Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies”, Vol 3, Issue6, May 2014.

• https://cleartax.in/s/gst-law-goods-and-services-tax

• http://www.cbec.gov.in/htdocs-cbec/gst

• http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/gst

• http://www.business-standard.com/search?type=news&q=Gst

• http://www.financialexpress.com/economy/what-is-gst-act-2017-full-

detailsspecifications-pdf-rules-forms-and-faqs/743156/

• http://newsonair.nic.in/GST_FAQ

• http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/multimedia/archive

• https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-main-purpose-of-implementing-
GST-in-India

• https://www.studydhaba.com/gst-slabs-pdf-download-gst-rates-structure/

• https://www.bloombergquint.com/union-budget-india/economic-survey-
the-gst-feast-of-findings#

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