HYDERABAD: Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Thursday urged the Union government to share the full financial impact with the states before implementing changes relating to refunds on motor vehicles, capital goods and input services.
Speaking at the 57th GST Council meeting in New Delhi, he said that according to estimates provided by the Centre, Telangana could face an annual revenue impact of around Rs 800 crore in the case of motor vehicles. He, however, said that the state’s own assessment indicated that the actual loss could be more than double that amount.
Vikramarka urged the Centre to protect the revenue interests of the states, while welcoming GST reforms.
He stressed the need to simplify compliance procedures for honest taxpayers while continuing a zero-tolerance approach towards deliberate tax evasion.
Stating that mutual trust was the foundation of the GST system, he said that GST accounts for around 35% of Telangana’s own tax revenue. “This revenue supports schools, hospitals, welfare programmes and infrastructure development in the state. A decline in GST revenue is not merely an accounting issue but it would directly affect the state’s ability to provide public services,” he said.
He supported the automatic GST registration in appropriate cases, as well as automatic processing of applications for registration amendments and cancellation.
Vikramarka also welcomed measures to rationalise penalties and reduce random stoppage of goods vehicles on roads. He suggested suitable changes in GST returns to minimise discrepancies.
He also called for strict action against GST fraud, fake registrations and misuse of identity details, while ensuring that taxpayer-friendly measures are implemented.