GST Council may take up textile sector tax issue in August meet

The Dollar Business Bureau

The Goods and Services (GST) Council, in its scheduled meeting in August, is likely to take up the issues related to taxation raised by several sectoral bodies together with a review of the new GST regime, said a top official on Friday. 

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) department is keeping a track of the revenue trends after the implementation of GST from July 1, however, the actual situation will come to light after the returns filed in September, said  Vanaja Sarna, Chairperson, CBEC.

The GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and consists of representative from the states, will be meeting on August 5 for reviewing the implementation of the GST regime. 

“Different issues will be coming to the table (at the next Council meeting). Things that have been brought to our notice may be on the rules and the implementation. Maybe, even on rates,” Sarna said on the sidelines of an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi. 

On the question about the concerns raised by the textile industry, she said, this will “possibly” be taken up.

Several traders of textile have been protesting against the imposition of 5% GST on fabric. The traders want the GST tax rate to be nil. Earlier this week, the Surat-based textile traders, who have been protesting against the move, withdrew their strike. 

“Whatever issues have been raised... will be taken up (by the Council). When you roll out something as mammoth as GST, I would say you will always find problems or issues probably coming in till six months or a year,” she said. 

When asked about the Customs revenues after July 1, she said that the revenues have been “good and buoyant”. 

The GST is a uniform tax structure which has replaced 17 different taxes, including VAT, service tax and excise.