The goods and services tax (GST) is a very careful locally balanced piece of legislation, which was part of an outcome of very intense and long deliberation of the officers of the state and the centre, followed by stakeholder consultations, said Shashank Priya, Special Secretary and Member-GST, Central Board Of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
While speaking at an Assocham event, Priya said, “It does balance the federal framework. We have to recognise the power of tax vests with both the centre and the states. And that's why we have to be mindful, both are equal stakeholders and need to be on board for GST.”
During the summit, he said that the industry has demanded full GST transferability between different states for GSTs having the same PAN. There are also demands that the recipient should not be made responsible for non-deposit of GST by the suppliers.
He mentioned that there have been some constant problems regarding how small taxpayers were not aware of compliance requirements as a result of which many of them could not file their returns in time and input tax credits were taken wrongly.
Priya added, “As we increased the period for filing the return, we gave certain amnesty for late filing of the returns, the demands that were raised under Section 73 of the CGST Act. We gave a waiver for penalty and interest on that.”
So, all those issues we have taken it forward in the 54th GST Council meeting. And 31 March 2025, is what the Council has recommended as the date on or before which payment of tax must be made by the taxpayers if they want to avail the benefit of this particular waiver.
Manish Kumar Sinha CEO, GSTN shared current trends in GST like mismatches where they have implemented automation wherein both taxpayer and tax administrator can see the outcomes. He said that methods and differences can be standardized. Invoice Management System (IMS) is a long-awaited step. The government is accommodating concerns from the industry.
Pratik Jain, Chair, National Council on Indirect Taxes, Assocham, highlighted GST’s remarkable technological advancements. He emphasised how AI tools are now capable of instantly summarising complex legal judgments and noted that the vast GST data can drive better decision-making for the government and industry.
Navin Jain, Co-chair, National Council on Indirect Taxes, Assocham underlined the GST council and administration are committed to ensuring the system’s continued success through active engagement and collaboration with the industry. He highlighted the priority of simplifying GST processes and encouraged industry members to share feedback on key challenges. Jain also stressed that continued collaboration with the government is essential to unlocking value and advancing progress within the GST framework.
Nitin Goyal, Co-chairman, National Council on Indirect Taxes, Assocham said the evolution of GST over the past seven years reflects the government's commitment to refining the tax landscape. With over 13 million entities now GST-registered and consistently filing returns showcases a significant rise from the previous year's collection.
