Deficit” between the Centre and the States on the issue of
Goods & Service Tax (GST). 19th December 2014 shall go
down as an important date in the levy of GST. The
Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill 2014 on ‘GST’ was
introduced by Finance Minister in Parliament on this date.
It is expected that GST would be introduced in the Indian
Tax system possibly during 2015-16 and the Government
hopes to roll out GST on April 1, 2016. The Countdown to
GST has thus begun. To constantly bring you updates and
analysis on the most important Indirect Tax Reform in
the Country we have started a GST Series as a
supplement to our “Tax Connect” which we issue every
month.
Two questions have constantly come up infront of us in
various public forums on GST –
1. How will the constitution be amended to
inculcate GST
2. Concisely tell us in simple terms what is GST…
We thought of starting our first series on GST by
answering these questions to some extent. We shall keep
on addressing these questions and various other
questions in our subsequent publications as well.
Goods & Service Tax (GST) as the name suggests, is a tax
on supply of goods or services. Any person, providing or
supplying goods or services would be liable to charge GST.
The States would be eligible for the SGST part of services
consumed within the State which would be additional
revenue for the State. The person supplying the goods or
services is allowed to take credit for taxes paid on supply
of goods or services, consequent to which, GST becomes a
tax on the value added at the next stage by the dealer.
Further GST would be levied by both the Central
Government (CGST) and State Government (SGST) on the
same transaction, making GST a dual transaction tax
structure. For inter state transactions IGST ( total of SGST
+ CGST) would be charged which would be apportioned to
the Union as well as the States. This would apply for the
subsumed part of the customs duties.
Out of the many benefits to industry, GST could have a
similar impact on freight demand, as the creation of the
European single market and customs union. GST will
standardize rates across the nation, allowing many
corporations to move away from having warehouses in
different states to adhere to each state tax code and
employ logistics companies to manage distribution and
supply chain. The case for having a warehouse in each
state will disappear.
Further, for a quick Glance, we shall also provide glimpses
on imp. Circulars/Notifications/Bills/amendments/any
other document on GST separately.
Last but not the least, for Industries to set up their
businesses in West Bengal, it becomes difficult to
sometimes find out what local laws are there. As a
beginning to our Comprehensive Compendium on Taxes
in West Bengal, we are going to publish 4 books –
1.The Bengal Amusements Tax Act, 1922, The Bengal
Amusements Tax Rules, 2010 and The West Bengal
Entertainment cum Amusement Tax Act, 1982
2.The Bengal Agricultural Income-Tax Act, 1944
3.The Bengal Excise Act, 1909
4.The Bengal Electricity Duty Act, 1935 and
The Bengal Electricity Rules, 1935
The said books would hit the stalls in the 2
nd week of Jan’
2015. A glimpse of the same is available on the last.
CLICK HERE TO GET GST SERIES 1 FULL EBOOK DOWNLOAD