‘Parva’ – Dawn of New Taxation Era! 2-day Nat’l Meet on GST
‘Parva’ – Dawn of New Taxation Era! a Two-day National Conference on Goods and Service Tax (GST) held at TV Raman Pai Convention Centre on 2 December organised by Indirect Taxes Committee, ICAI and Mangalore Branch of SIRC of ICAI
Mangaluru: A two-days national conference on GST named ” Parva”- Dawn of New taxation Era is held at TV Raman Pai Convention Centre-Mangaluru hosted by Indirect Taxes Committee, ICAI and Mangaluru Branch of SIRC of ICAI on 2 and 3 December 2016. The convention was inaugurated by lighting the traditional lamp by Akkshaya Kumar Sahoo- Director Finance, MRPL, while Dr M Subramanyam IRS-Commissioner of Central Excise and Service tax, Mangaluru was the guest of honour, and presided over by CA Madhukar Hiregange- Chairman, Indirect Taxes Committee, ICAI.
The chief guest and the guest of honour spoke on the benefits of having GST. Goods and service Tax (GST) is the single largest tax reform in India since Independence. It is a comprehensive tax on the manufacture, sale, supply, transfer, barter, exchange, license, rental, lease, disposal, import and consumption of goods and service across India. In effect, GST will combine 16 taxes including excise, service tax,VAT, and other local body taxes into one broad framework. For any given commodity, the rate of tax will remain the same throughout the country which also means that there won’t be any state borders as far as business is concerned.
The responsible of Chartered Accountants, on whom the business houses rely for professional advice, is very high as they have to fulfil the role in guiding the clients and also to ensure proper compliance of the GST law. The proposed GST law requires that the annual accounts of the business entity should be audited by a Chartered accountant and the Returns should match to the books. Hence, the Income tax Audit cannot be completed without reconciliation of the GST returns. This responsibility imposed on the Chartered Accountants by the government can be handled and completed only with a thorough knowledge of the GST law.
In order to ensure that you move smoothly into the GST era, you must- Understand the difference between the present tax laws and GST; Understand the importance of computerization in the GST era; Understand the importance of maintaining your accounts properly; Comply with GST to make sure that you a business advantage in the market; these and many more advantages of GST were discussed during the convention. The implementation of GST is one of the most significant reforms affecting all factors of production and economics. The implementation of a unified GST in India is viewed as one of the most far-reaching indirect tax reforms that the country will see.
Currently under the constitution, while the Union government is constrained from levying taxes on goods beyond the point of manufacturing, state governments cannot levy taxes on services. Thus, to simplify and unify the current indirect tax structure, an amendment to the current constitution is needed. The implementation of a unified and simplified GST through constitutional amendment could overhaul the current indirect tax system of India. GST is a consumption tax that is collected on the sale of manufactured goods and services. Since it is a consumption tax it is passed on until the last stage, wherein the customer bears the tax, just like excise duty is imposed currently.
What makes GST an important tax reform is it simplifies the tax structure, increases tax compliance, increases government revenue and integrates states. The current taxation system creates borders within borders in the country, as the system is unable to provide tax credits for interstate transactions, and this leads to distortions in the allocation of resources. In this context, one of the most important benefits of implementing the GST is that it would integrate the economy and provide for a common national market. Corporate sectors’ decisions to set up production operations would be influenced not by tax benefits but on core business efficiency.
During the 2-days convention various topics covered are : Role of CA in GST by CA Madhukar Hiregange-Chairman of Indirect Taxes Committee, ICAI; Taxable event for levy of GST and the persons liable to pay tax by speaker, Advocate Shailesh P Sheth, Mumbai; Principles of Valuation under GST, Point of Taxation and place of supply by speaker- Advocate K Vaitheeswaran, Chennai; Import-Export under GST, and Understanding and Maximizing Input Credit by speaker- CA Ashok Batra, New Delhi; Impact of GST on Industry; and Transitional provisions and possible solutions by speaker-CA A Jatin Christopher, Bengaluru.
Chairman of Indirect Taxes Committee, ICAI- CA. Madhukar Narayan Hiregange briefing the media persons during a press meet about ICAI said, ” The Indirect Taxes Committee is one of the most important non-standing Committees of the ICAI. The main function of the Committee is to examine the indirect taxes laws, rules, regulations, circulars, notifications etc., which may be enacted or issued by the Government from time to time and to send suitable memorandum containing suggestions for improvements in the respective legislation. The Indirect Taxes Committee actively facilitates the process of formulation of the budget by offering pre-budget and post-budget suggestions/comments to simplify tax laws and their administration for the purpose of making it more responsive to taxpayers. Another important function of the Committee is to enhance the awareness/ knowledge of the members of the ICAI relating to indirect taxes and the potential opportunities offered by this area by organising workshops, certificate courses, seminars, e-learning and interactive programme independently as also with trade and industry.”
The Objectives of ICAI are- To assist, advise and guide to make Indirect Tax laws in the country simple, transparent, certain and equitable; To examine indirect tax laws, rules, regulations, notifications, circulars etc. enacted/ issued and conduct Pre-Budget and Post Budget Workshops and make representations to Central and State Governments.
To assist, advise and interact with Government of India & State Governments and /or its committees/ groups formed in policy matters and those relating to functioning and administration of taxes; To enhance the awareness/ knowledge of Indirect Taxes and the potential opportunities by organizing workshops, certificate courses, seminars, e-learning and interactive programmes independently as also with trade and industry.
To update/ review and revise existing publications and bring out new one as may be relevant including e-newsletter; To popularize the Indirect Taxes Net; To conduct research/ studies and publish the same; To conduct training programmes for official of Central and State Governments on area relating to Indirect Taxes; and To carry out such other matters as the Council/President may refer to the Committee.
For more details log on to www.idtc@icai.org or www.sircicai.org