The first meeting of GST to be chaired by new finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 21 June is expected to take decisions to curb tax evasion.

The 35th meeting of the GST Council may seek to increase scrutiny on businesses after lower than expected GST collections. The Council may also mull creation of state and area benches of GST Appellate Tribunal, as well as extension of National Anti-profiteering Authority’s tenure, TV channel CNBC TV18 reported citing unidentified sources. The meeting may also see discussion of launching new electronic invoicing system to curb tax evasion, it added.

There may also be a consideration on the recommendations of the committee of officers on the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) data for strengthening the e-way bills. A demand for interest waiver on delayed receipt of advance user chargers, the report added. The meeting is also likely to discuss on other agenda items such as the information regarding the new return format.

Meanwhile, the GST Council may also approve the proposals of Delhi, Odisha and Telangana to set up appellate tribunal benches, news agency PTI reported. A call would also be taken on establishing bench to deal with appeal cases in six Union Territories — Chandigarh, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, PTI reported citing an unidentified official.

A little more than Rs 1 lakh crore was collected in GST receipts in the month of May, an official data showed. It was an improvement of nearly 7 per cent as against the corresponding period of the previous year. However, it was still below the growth rate needed by the government to avoid compensating states for revenue losses.

Published On : 18-06-2019

Source : Financial Express