Commercial taxes staff oppose move to keep assessees under Centre

Members of the Karnataka Commercial Taxes Services (Officers’) (KCTS-O) Association on Wednesday staged a protest by wearing black bands against the GST Council’s decision to keep all service tax assessees within the jurisdiction of the central government.

Talking to DH, KCTS(O) Association president C N Shiva Prakash said, the association opposes the retention of assessment jurisdiction of 20.87 lakh assessees under the central government and demands that assessees with a turnover limit of Rs 1.5 crore per annum be brought under the jurisdiction of the states.

“GST Council’s decision is a glaring instance of the central government’s attempt to impose hegemony on the states in blatant violation of the principles of federalism,” Prakash said.

The KCTS-O Association and the All India Confederation of Commercial Taxes Associations (AICCTA) have demanded that the Union Finance Minister and the GST Council reconsider the decision to retain jurisdiction of the service tax payers. The desirable turnover limit for assessees under states’ jurisdiction should be less than Rs 1.5 crore.

Prakash said, “The state government should involve the respective associations in decision-making on all GST matters. The central government and GST Council should direct the state governments to implement the same cadre, designation, pay scales on principles of equal pay for equal work for the state government commercial tax officers and employees as they exist in the central government department.”

The AICCTA will call for a nationwide agitation, including non co-operation in the transition from VAT to GST, culminating in an indefinite strike by all state commercial tax department officers and employees till the demands are met, Prakash said.