Karnataka well-poised to embrace GST

Karnataka state, which has seen over 94% migration to the Goods and Services (GST) Network, seems to be well set for the rollout of the new indirect tax regime.

The role of Karnataka in enrolment and implementation of GST has been appreciated by one and all — Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia and top indirect tax officials.

Although the Commercial Taxes department believes that there would be initial hiccups with filing of the returns, the officials are quick to add that there won’t be much of a problem, as Karnataka used to have e-filing system in the Value Added Tax (VAT) regime.

“Karnataka state appears to be in good shape, because the software has been developed locally in Bengaluru. Karnataka has been far ahead in electronic handling of VAT even before GST,” a senior official from Commercial Taxes Department told DH.

Karnataka was the the first state to move to the electronic filing of the VAT — uploading purchases and sales statement online. Among the active indirect taxpayers in the state over 90% have already registered with the GSTN, sources said.

Punitive action denied
According to the official, the 10% people have not registered yet due to the name changes and are expected to register by Friday evening. The official also denied any kind of punitive action on the businesses who will not be able to register under GST prior to July 1 deadline, but also asserted that no input credit will be available to them.

The Commercial Taxes department has also trained 900 officers and over 6,000 staffers for GST implementation.

The department, in association with trade bodies like FKCCI and Kassia, has conducted around 130 workshops across the state to create awareness among the trading community and prepare them for the rollout of GST.
DH News Service