With the implementation of the landmark Goods and Services Tax (GST), Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has said that the government is keeping a close watch on price and supply of goods, particularly essential and daily-use commodities in order to ensure there are no disruptions post introduction of the new tax regime.
Adhia has stated that there have been no reports of any disruptions post GST implementation and a central monitoring committee, comprising of 15 top secretaries of the government, will meet every Tuesday to review the situation. In addition, he said that as many as 175 officers of joint secretary and additional secretary have been given charge of 4-5 districts each to monitor the GST implementation. Talking on the issue of registration for GST, he noted that about two lakh new registrations have been done on GST Network and of these, 39,000 have already been approved.
Clearing misconception regarding the national sales tax, Revenue Secretary has explained that small traders need not issue bills as they are covered under a composition scheme that requires them to pay a fixed tax. He noted that bigger businesses with a turnover above Rs 75 lakh are required to issue bills with break-up of GST but not necessarily a computer generated receipts. He added that these can also be hand-written receipts with a proper invoice number that can be added and filed in returns.
For clearing unsold pre-GST goods, he said that the government has allowed companies to use additional stickers for indicating revised price of a commodity for three months. He explained that a revision in the rate of a pre-packaged commodity post GST implementation has to be intimated through advertisement in at least two newspapers and thereafter additional stickers over and above the MRP can be used. Besides, he said that toll, mandi charges and fee on vehicle entry into states are not subsumed in the GST and will continue to be charged by local bodies or state governments.