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The Dollar Business Bureau  Goods and Services Tax (GST), a historic tax reform, will come into effect from tomorrow i.e.1st July 2017. GST will completely transform the Indirect Taxation landscape in the country involving both the Central and State levies. In a departure from the normal practice, GST will be administered together by the Centre and States. Why is GST important? The biggest tax reform since independence - GST - will pave the way for the realisation of the goal of One Nation - One Tax - One Market. GST will benefit all the stakeholders namely industry, government and consumer. It will lower the cost of goods and services, give a boost to the economy and make the products and services globally competitive, giving a ...

The Dollar Business Bureau The government has set up joint task forces with representatives from road, transport and highways ministries to examine possibilities to boost steel demand in the country. "Joint task forces covering railways, urban development, Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways etc have been constituted comprising representatives from ministries concerned and their agencies to assess the possibilities of boosting demand of steel," Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo Sai informed the parliament in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.   “The scope of these committees inter-alia covers codes and standards, life cycle cost analysis, development of designs of various structures and other suitable measures,” Deo said.  Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh had earlier noted that steel demand is projected to ...

The Dollar Business Bureau To allow enough time for Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to address industry concerns, the government has appointed around 10 different committees to individually look into the problems faced by specific sectors in making a shift to GST. Textiles, banking, insurance, exports, information technology, telecom, gems and jewellery, oil and gas, logistics, and MSMEs, are sectors marked for a thorough review to ensure smooth economic transition to the new tax regime. These groups, responsible for reporting and resolving sectoral issues, will be headed by senior tax officials, who will be required to file a report by April 10, 2017. Although GST is a progressive, forward-looking reform, many have expressed doubts over India's readiness to adopt ...

PTI The Union Cabinet today approved amendments in the Customs and Excise Act relating to abolition of cesses and surcharges on various goods and services to facilitate implementation of GST. The amendments in the Customs Act, 1962, allow furnishing of information relating to import or export of goods by specified persons to enable analysis and detection of cases of under or over-valuation in imports and exports. It also aims to check misuse of export promotion schemes, including the Drawback Scheme, and violations of the provisions of the Customs Act and various other laws under which Customs officials have been authorised to implement these laws. "Amendments or repeal of various provisions of other Acts which will no longer be relevant consequent on rollout ...

By Ranjeet Mahtani and Sweta Rajan On March 4 and 5, 2017, the GST Council approved the draft Central CGST and Integrated GST bills. The Government proposes to introduce the CGST, IGST and the Compensation laws in the Parliament on March 27, 2017. The next meeting of the GST Council on March 16, 2017 is expected to see the draft SGST and UTGST laws being approved by the GST Council, to allow States and Union Territories sufficient time to table them for passage. After the last GST Council meeting, the Finance Minister stated that work towards the roll-out of GST on July 1, 2017 is on track. Indications regarding the draft bills approved: As per the CGST Bill, the provision for tax collection ...

Ranjeet Mahtani & Sweta Rajan Prior to its last meeting, the GST Council (a legislative body) had sent the draft GST laws to a legal committee to ensure that the fundamentals agreed upon by the Council were appropriately reflected in the language of the draft laws. During the meeting on February 18, 2017, the GST Council discussed various issues in the legally vetted draft GST laws, finalised some issues, and discussed others without finality. The draft laws are expected to be approved by the Council during its next meeting on March 4 and 5, 2017. If the same get approved, the draft IGST and CGST laws, as also the Compensation laws (which is already approved by the Council) would be presented before ...

Ranjeet Mahtani and Sweta Rajan The Goods and Service Tax Council met on 18th February, 2017. The agenda primarily was to finalise the draft GST laws. Some of the key points which were expected to be discussed and finalised were: (1) the critical anti-profiteering clause in the draft GST legislations which ensures that the benefit of lower taxes gets shared with consumers (2) the constitution of a 'national goods and services tax appellate tribunal' to adjudicate on disputes (3) the powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for GST audit – for which the CAG had raised a requirement (4) draft GST Compensation Bill – to compensate States for the losses which may arise as a result of transition to GST. However, since some States ...

The Dollar Business Bureau The Government, as a part of its Labour reforms, will present two major bills in the Parliament, related to wages and industrial relations in March for rationalisation and simplification of Labour Laws, said Bandaru Dattatreya, Minister of Labour and Employment. “Next week at the inter-ministerial meeting under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, we will take the final decision and after that we will go to the Cabinet. In the March (leg of Budget Session) both the bills would be introduced and I am hopeful it would be passed,” Dattatreya said, while speaking at the ASSOCHAM 96th Annual Function on Thursday in New Delhi. “All the 43 Labour Laws would be simplified and codified into 4 major ...