Exercise of putting goods in GST slabs has begun: CBEC

Dated 8th December, 2016

Confident of the rollout of Goods and Services Tax from April 1, 2017, despite a logjam in the Council on the issue of dual control, the Central Board of Excise and Customs(CBEC) on Thursday said it has started the exercise of putting the goods in the four tax slabs.

"We have started the exercise of putting goods into various tax slabs. It will be shared with the (GST) Council," CBEC Chairman Najib Shah said here at the National Conference on GST organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

"I think the deadline of April 1, 2017, will still be met. These (dual control) are issues that are getting addressed and will get resolved," Shah said.

He said the issue of dual control or cross empowerment -- which deals with who will assess the taxpayers, the Centre or states -- should not have taken as much time with the Council as it has.

"It ought not to have taken as much time as it has. The dual control should not lead to duel," he added.

The government is very clear on a single administration dealing with an assessee, Shah said.

Confident that these issues will get resolved, he said: "We are hoping to table the GST laws in the current Parliament session."

"I don't know what route the political circles will take. But GST is a reality."

(This article is published in Business Standard on 8 December, 2016)