GST is one of the most significant fiscal reforms of independent India

Jamshedpur, September 28: Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a comprehensive tax levy on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services at a national level.

GST is an integrated scheme of taxation that does not discriminate between goods and services and is a part of the proposed tax reforms that centre is evolving for an efficient and harmonized consumption tax system in the country.

GST has been identified as one of most important tax reform post-independence. It is a tax trigger which will lead to business transformation for the industry and thus requires proactive and advance planning to be compliant in the new regime.

With its proposed implementation from April 2017 gaining intensity, it is critical for companies having business operations in India to understand the broad contours and framework of the proposed GST law, likely impact of the new levy on their business and the next steps/ way forward to address the challenges in implementing the requirements thereof.

Against this backdrop, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Ernest & Young (EY) organised a session on GST � Getting GST Ready in Jamshedpur on Wednesday, September 28. The objective of the programme was to have a better understanding of the various features of the bill which will be implemented from April 2017.

During the Inaugural, Killol Kamani , Chairman, CII Jamshedpur Zonal Council and MD, Samarth Engineering Co Pvt Ltd said GST would be one of the most significant fiscal reforms of independent India and is expected to result in major rationalization and simplification of the consumption tax structure at both Centre and State levels.

Besides simplifying the current system and lowering the costs of doing business, GST will call for a fundamental redesign of supply chains. It will affect how the companies operate their businesses, presenting significant opportunities for long-term revenue and margin improvement.

Dhanu Kumar, Co Convener, Economic affairs panel and AGM- Finance, Tata Motors Ltd addressed the simplicity of the tax should lead to easier administration and enforcement. From the consumer point of view, the biggest advantage would be in terms of a reduction in the overall tax burden on goods, which was estimated at 25%-30%, free movement of goods from one state to another without stopping at state borders for hours for payment of state tax or entry tax and reduction in paperwork to a large extent.

Sidhartha Jain, Partner, Indirect Tax Services and Alok Raj, Executive Director, Advisory Services from EY elucidated the potential impact of the model GST law & the way forward with focus on impact of GST especially on Steel, Mining and Auto Sector.

Mr Jain said it is quite interesting to see GST being pushed at such a remarkable speed, considering the delay it was over all these years. After the release of Model GST Law in June 2016, the government has now come out with draft GST rules on invoicing, registration, payment, return, and refunds for comments.

The GST council, after its formation in mid September held its first meeting on 22 & 23 Sep 2016 and reached consensus on the exemption threshold, dual control between Centre & States, treatment of Cesses, compensation and revenue projection.

Tanmoy Das Mahapatra, heading Jamshedpur office of EY said with GST becoming a reality very soon, we expect production facilities being set up closer to the raw material source. This should give an impetus of growth to the states in eastern India which have remained in the back seat of development and growth.

A K Srivastava, Convener, MSME Panel, CII Jharkhand State Council and Partner A K Industries concluded the session by vote of thanks.

Also present at the session was Loveleen Bhardawaj, CII Secretariat and others.