JOIN USWith over 91% of traders registering with the Commercial Tax Department, Tamil Nadu joined the other 27 states to be a part of the GST rollout on Saturday.
However, the transition to the new tax system was far from smooth as sections of the cracker and power loom industries staged a protest.
Theatre owners said that they would remain shut from Monday as there was “lack of clarity” on the tax to be levied under GST.
To ensure a successful implementation of GST, the Tamil Nadu government said it would hold 650 workshops across the state to clarify doubts of the taxpayers. Training programmes have also been planned at every commercial tax district from Saturday, besides creation of help desks at every assessment circle and facilitation centre at the districts.
Though all tax officials are trained in the new tax system and are proficient with the GSTN software application, further refresher programmes have been planned.
Authorities have been instructed to help taxpayers at all possible levels and ensure a smooth transition to the new tax regime.
So far, more than 91% of the 6.5 lakh dealers registered with the Commercial Tax Department have migrated to the GSTN platform. They were given provisional IDs under the GST system, which they can use to continue their business for three months without trouble.
The central government has also made arrangements to dispel doubts on the taxation through Central Goods and Services Tax Department.
State Finance Minister D Jayakumar represented Tamil Nadu at the function to launch GST at Parliament’s central hall on Friday midnight.
“We worked throughout Friday night for the successful implementation of GST,” said a finance department employee of ITC Grand Chola, Chennai.
A senior IT professional of the US-based firm Verizon said, “We are still implementing the tax structure. It will be done soon.”
The Tamil Nadu Film Chamber of Commerce, which announced the theatre shut down, demanded clarification from the state government on how much tax would be levied on theatres.