AS THE historic Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime on Wednesday came one step closer to a rollout on July 1 — with Lok Sabha saying “yes” to four supplementary legislations — secretary of the department of economic affairs (DEA) Shaktikanta Das said, he was “fortunate to witness this transformative moment” whereas his colleague in the North Block and revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia took to Twitter to compliment everyone including the officers behind the success. Adhia, a 1981 batch Gujarat cadre IAS said:
“My compliments to all those who worked hard in the last 10 years to arrive at this historic milestone in economic history of this country”.
He then added : “The hard work put in by GST Council members and officers bore fruits today in terms of 4 classic pieces of legislation passed by Loksabha”, thereby thanking the officers as well. Das’ tweet reads like this: “Historic occasion in Lok Sabha. Four GST bills passed. Fortunate to witness this transformative moment”.
A number of other bureaucrats too posted congratulatory messages in social media sites. For example, Ashok Vishnoi said in Twitter that passing of GST bills was a mark of “new era into indirect tax regime”. “We must now ensure successful rollout of the GST in whole country”, he added.
Another tax administrator and IRS (Customs and Central Excise) officer Pawan Kumar posted: “Its beginning of new India. Gst will change economy. Congrts to IRS(C and CE) officers 4 great efforts and commitment #gstbill @IRS_IN”.
Meanwhile, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is being renamed as the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), after getting legislative approval, the government had announced in a statement last week. The proposed CBIC will supervise the work of all its field formations and directorates and assist the government in policy making in relation to GST, continuing Central Excise levy and Customs functions, according to the same statement.
According to the proposal, the CBIC will have 21 zones, 101 GST tax payer services commissionerates comprising 15 sub-commissionerates, 768 divisions, 3,969 ranges, 49 audit commissionerates and 50 appeals commissionerates.
Also, the existing training establishment will be renamed as National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics. Further, the renamed Directorate General of Goods and Service Tax Intelligence will become an important wing of the government in its fight against tax evasion and black money.
The complex GST law would bring tears to the business community. The issue of jurisdiction of the Centre and the States would be the subject matter of most litigation.
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