Karnataka to notify GST rules on June 19

93% of traders enrol for new system in state; server crash slows migration

The state government is ready with the rules and procedures to implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) and will notify the same on June 19, a top official said.

“We have already finalised the rules and procedures for the smooth rollout of GST during the GST Council meeting last week. We will issue the formal notification on June 19,” B V Murali Krishna, joint commissioner of commercial taxes (administration), told DH.

The Assembly, on Thursday, unanimously passed the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017. With this, Karnataka has become the 26th state to pass the state GST bill.

Krishna said the Commercial Taxes department is fully geared up to roll out GST from July 1. Already, 93% of traders across the state have enrolled for GST on the new website as on June 15, 2017, the last date for enrolment, he said. So far, 5.5 lakh traders have registered on the GST network. However, migration of data from VAT (value added tax) system to GST has been slow due to frequent breakdown in the network servers. As on June 15, only 45% of the traders have migrated to the GST system, he said.

Krishna said the portal will reopen on June 25 and will remain open beyond July 1 for those traders who are yet to enrol themselves. Karnataka is among the first few states to go for enrolment under the GST network and had achieved 80% enrolment within the first 15 days of January. Chandigarh tops the list with 98.3% enrolment.

Training sessions

The trading community is fully geared up to implement the GST and has trained a large number of 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 over 100 workshops across the state to create awareness among the trading community and prepare them for the rollout of GST, said B T Manohar, tax expert from the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI).

Training sessions will be conducted till June 27, mostly in district headquarters for the benefit of small businesses and traders, he added.