MADURAI: The Agro Food Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the launch of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Goods and Services Tax (GST) investigations on Friday ahead of the Appellate Tribunal.
In a release, President of Agro Food Chamber of Commerce and Industry S Rethinavelu stated that it is heartening to note that the Revenue Department of the central government is in the process of finalising an SOP for officers undertaking intelligence and investigation works before the establishment of GST Appellate Tribunal.
"This is the only way to clear the conundrum created by the hasty and haphazard implementation of the progressive taxation system of GST. Agro Food Chamber welcomes this positive and proactive move of the Union Finance Ministry, which is a step in the right direction. Issuance of hundreds of notifications, clarifications, amendments and FAQs under the GST in the nearly six-year-old indirect tax regime has made this Taxation Act more complicated and difficult to understand, even for the officials implementing it," he added.
He further stated that the wrong interpretations of law given by the officials while intercepting the goods vehicles during wee hours and collecting penalties from uneducated drivers, in the absence of either the consignor or the consignee, has made the transport of goods a nightmare. "Innocent traders are made to pay heavy penalties through their noses for no fault of theirs, which has made many micro and small enterprises run away from business activities. Levying a penalty illegally is nothing short of bribery. Penal actions should be taken against such officials," he said.
"Now GST rates have been fixed based on headings and sub-headings of the products based on the HSN Code-Structure, leading to uncertainty about the exact rates of tax for many products. Hence, to clear this ambiguity, the 'one rate for all goods covered under one chapter' should be fixed, which will ultimately simplify GST currently termed as 'Tax Terrorism'," he stated adding that unless the SOPs are finalised in consultation with the trade and industry across the country, the proposed GST Appellate Tribunal would be flooded with appeals, which would be unbearable.