BHUBANESWAR: When you are charged Goods and Services Tax (GST) on any product, ask the trader to show you the GST paid bill on the item. A trader can levy the amount he has paid as tax while purchasing the product, but not more than that.
Talking to this paper, GST Chief Commissioner SK Panda on Friday said every consumer should make it a habit of asking for the GST paid bill before trading. “There are rumours that prices of commodities have increased after implementation of GST. But, it is not true. Prices are bound to decrease as many hidden taxes are abolished,” he said.
Earlier, there was cascading effect of tax as traders and consumers were being charged tax on tax. It was difficult to find out the tax amount on a product. Post GST, everything has been simplified and the tax amount is transparent now.
Panda, who has been elevated as member of Central Board of GST and Custom, said the new tax regime would lessen the work burden on traders as they would not have to do things manually. They would directly upload their purchase and sale figure on the GST portal and file the return monthly, he said.
While traders having an annual turnover of less than `20 lakh are exempted from GST, those who have the turnover of more than that would be charged GST. They have to register their names and obtain GST number.
“There is a GST composition scheme for traders, manufacturers and suppliers of food and drink (other than alcohol), who have an aggregate turnover of less than `75 lakh in a financial year. Those who avail the scheme will be charged one per cent, two per cent and five per cent GST of their total transaction,” he said.
While the scheme is available for only intra-state suppliers, they are not allowed to avail the Input Tax Credit (ITC) of GST paid to their supplier. However, normal GST will be applicable for traders having a turnover of more than `75 lakh and they would avail the ITC.
Under the composition scheme, a tax payer is required to file one return in each quarter and he need not worry on record keeping and focus more on business. Since he is not required to pay taxes at regular rates, he is not liable to issue a tax invoice and he would issue a bill of supply making this a more convenient option as lesser details are required.
Panda said, no additional tax can be levied on the maximum retail price of products since MRP is always inclusive of all taxes. He, however, admitted that the price of products would slightly vary from place to place as traders would fix the price adding the transportation cost.
Consumers need not be worried as software has been developed in such a way that it would calculate the tax automatically without any human interference. Traders charging more would be booked under anti-profiteering law, he added.
Meanwhile, the GST directorate has undertaken several initiatives to make both consumers and traders aware about GST. While at least 100 Seva Kendras have been opened to help taxpayers, outreach programme being conducted across the State will continue for next six months.