VIJAYAWADA: Central Tax and GST commissioner M Srihari Rao has called upon the taxpayers to resolve their disputes pertaining to service tax and Central excise which are now included under GST through Sabka Vishwas (legacy dispute resolution) scheme 2019 introduced recently.
He participated in an awareness programme titled ‘Sabka Vishwas (legacy dispute resolution) and GST annual returns’ organised by the Guntur, Vijayawada and Amaravati CGST commissionerates in association with Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) in the city here on Thursday.
Speaking on the occasion, Srihari Rao said that the cases under investigation or those pertaining to adjudication invariably drag on for years burdening the taxpayers, especially those in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
“The introduction of GST which has subsumed these legacy taxes has given an opportunity to the government and also to taxpayers to settle these cases. On an undisclosed sum of less than `50 lakh around 30 per cent tax will be deducted while in case of more than Rs 50 lakh, 50 per cent tax will be imposed. The sum should be disclosed by the prospective taxpayer in a written statement on or before June 30,’’ he informed.
Elaborating further, Rao said that under this scheme, dues to the tune of more than Rs 5,000 crore have been declared, effectively resolving disputes in many cases. In this regard, the Centre has is putting in efforts to make people aware of the scheme and ensure maximum number of declarations by December 31, the date of the scheme’s expiry, he concluded.
Central Tax and GST Additional Commissioner M Rama Mohan Rao and assistant commissioner TE Srikanth participated in the session and explained the procedures of filing annual GST returns and GST audit under GST Act 2017.
The duo also explained the amendments made to the GST act and other issues pertaining to its filing.
“Due to the lack of knowledge some people are unable to file the returns in a proper manner,” the assistant commissioner said. AP Chambers president KVS Prakash Rao, general secretary P Bhaskar Rao, treasurer S Akkaih Naidu, executive director A Satyanarayana and others were also present.