PM tells tax authorities to bring all traders in GST net

Dated NEW DELHI, September 1, 2017

Tax officials should make every effort to bring all traders, including smaller businesses with turnover of less than Rs. 20 lakh, into the Goods and Services Tax (GST) net, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told taxmen on Friday. Currently, traders with less than ₹20 lakh annual turnover have to register under GST only if they are supplying goods to other States.

“The Prime Minister said that in order to enable all traders to derive the maximum benefit of GST, we should work towards ensuring that all traders, including the relatively smaller traders with a turnover of below Rs. 20 lakh, register with the GST system. He asked the officers to make efforts in this regard by designing a system for this category,” an official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Urging tax officials to fix clear targets for sprucing up tax administration by 2022, the PM said his government was creating an environment that shattered the confidence of the corrupt, while creating trust among honest taxpayers — through measures such as demonetisation and implementation of stringent laws against black money and benami properties.

Speaking to tax administrators from both the Centre and the states at the two-day Rajasva Gyan Sangam conference in the capital, the PM said he was dismayed at the huge pendancy of tax-related cases where huge sums of money, that could have been used for the welfare of the poor, were locked up.

Mr. Modi also asked the officers to use data analytical tools to pro-actively track and determine undeclared income and wealth. He said that though efforts to increase tax revenue were being made by the officers each year, the estimated amounts of tax, that should accrue to the system, were often not realised.

Mooting a time-bound solution for ‘tax raised and not realised,’ the PM said that human interface must be kept to a minimum in the tax administration’s dealings by pushing “e-assessment” and anonymity of proceedings using technology. This, he said, will ensure that ‘vested interests do not impede the due course of law.’

Mr. Modi also asked taxmen to improve their work-culture and inculcate a “sense of urgency” and “measurability” in their performance.

Source: www.thehindu.com