Union Budget 2019 India: Traders' body CAIT has sought simplification in filing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) return and also an extension in filing it by at least next three months from current last date of June 30.
Union Budget 2019 India: Traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders has sought simplification in filing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) return and also an extension in filing it by at least next three months from current last date of June 30 in this year’s budget that will be presented by new finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 5. CAIT currently represents over 7 crore small traders in India.
Filing GST return form, according to CAIT, is extremely complicated with requirements that current GST filing softwares are not updated with. “For example, the cost price of each commodity, the sale price of each commodity, and HSN code of each item are now asked by the government. These weren’t required when GST was introduced. Hence, GST filing softwares don’t have provision to fill these details,” Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, CAIT told Financial Express Online.
The government should introduce suitable modifications to the form and also extend the last date of filing return by at least next three months. Also, the length of the form should be reduced from five-six pages to one page, added Khandelwal.
Ruling political party BJP in election manifest this year had said that up to Rs 50 lakh loan will be given to traders without any collateral. This should also be there in the budget, Khandelwal added.
Another ask by CAIT in the budget is to enhance the duration of filing GST return from monthly to quarterly in order to reduce paperwork and cut manpower cost and time. Moreover, there is a need for an inbuilt provision in the form of rectifying mistakes or refilling the form since currently, one cannot revise what has been filled by mistake in the form. “You cannot generate a new form cannot because only one form is generated with your respective GST number,” said Khandelwal.
CAIT has also asked for a review of items classified under different GST slabs as there are many items, which are raw material in nature such as aluminium, that have a tax rate of 18 per cent but the finished product made from it is 12 per cent. Khandelwal said that the tax rate of raw material should not be more than the tax rate of finished goods.
Among other key requirements by CAIT in this year’s budget includes enhancing income tax exemption limit from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5-7 lakh as the consumer price index has gone up over the last many years. “If exemption will be based on the last 10-year price index then that it is of not much help. Hence the income tax exemption should be as per the price index,” said Khandelwal.
President Ram Nath Kovind in his joint parliament speech today had said that accident insurance of up to Rs 10 lakh will be provided to traders registered under GST and will set up the National Traders Welfare Board for small traders and a National Retail Trade Policy to boost retail business.
Published On : 20-06-2019
Source : Financial Express
